


Meow Cafe

by lemonsandstrawberries



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Drama, Fluff, M/M, catcafe!au, coffeshop!au, starts with fluff then goes to angst and drama but ends happily, temporary abusive situation in chapter 8, tiberious stone is a bad person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-02-24 15:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 70,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13216887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonsandstrawberries/pseuds/lemonsandstrawberries
Summary: Steve is dragged to an unusual coffee house and meets a very hot barista and his fluffy cat. It won't be an easy love, but it will be so worth it in the end. Read A/N before each chapter for additional tags. Cats in the story belong to me or my friends, used with permission. Janet is based on her Avengers Academy persona, rest is based on MCU.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the Meow Cafe! It is every coffee and cat lover's dream come true! Sit down, enjoy a cup of coffee, pet a cat and let me tell you the love story that happened here not so long ago.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This definitely wasn't a place Steve ever expected to find him. Them both.

“You got to be kidding me.. I’m not going in there!”

Steve whined, a little bit too loud, getting attention of two girls, who just were heading in, receiving a nasty look from them. Bucky scoldingly tugged on his arm, and sent a flirting smile at the girls, making them giggle, as the door closed behind them. A lovely start.

When Bucky had dragged Steve out of his apartment, claiming that he needed to go out and met some new people, instead of spending afternoons free of work with a book, and being miserable about his single life (totally not true, Steve was very satisfied with his life), Steve didn’t have strength to protest.

Maybe it was a mistake.

He eyed with a pained expression the coffee house. It looked pretty normal from the outside. Big window, current specials written in a white marker, and a blackboard outside, welcoming the guests. He could see comfortable couches and puffs inside, and it looked perfectly normal. The disturbing thing was that the window was decorated with prints of cat paws, and there was a huge, stretched out comfortably, drawn cat on the signboard above the window.

“Meow Cafe.”

Steve heard of this place. It was a cafe where the main attraction, besides coffee and snacks, were cats. Customers could play with them, observe them, and even adopt, if they felt a connection to one of the cats. It was a great place and every cat lovers dream come true.

Just Steve wasn’t a cat person. He didn’t mind them, but he preferred dogs. He couldn’t walk a cat out and play fetch with it.

“Come on,” Bucky urged, pushing Steve to the door.

“Bucky, you don’t even like cats!” Steve tried to defend, but his friend was strong.

“I don’t mind them terribly,” Bucky answered snootily. “But you know who loves cats?” he asked, and Steve shook his head, fearing the answer. “Babes,” Bucky grinned and last strong push and Steve was inside.

The inside wasn’t too terrible. Steve feared that the strong cat scent would make him feel nauseous, but the place was clean and aired, it had to be, seeing that they also served food. It was a one big room, with a few sitting places to not overcrowd it. The decorations were scarce, but there was a whole lot of cat toys in special baskets, and a lot of colorful pillows on every chair, both for humans and cats, already occupied by both. There was a separate play area in the corner, with squeaky toys and tunnels for cats. There were a few cat trees and shelves on the walls, cats could hide away from the attention. What made Steve smile, were the two doors behind the bar, one signed with “for personnel only”, probably leading to the kitchen, the other one with “for cats only” with small window at the bottom, cats could walk back and forth. It had to be the room where cats could rest in peace.

“Hi, can I get you something?”

Steve looked away from the door and at the person standing behind the bar, suddenly at loss of words, and just staring sheepishly. It was a male. He didn’t expect to see a male here. Also, it was a very attractive male. He had a great tan, brown hair and big, brown, warm eyes. A nice smile framed by a dark goatee in some way reminded him of the mysterious way cats’ smiled, and the sweetly curling hair on his head, were utterly adorable.

The friendly smile changed into a teasing one, when he still didn’t get an answer.

Rolling his eyes, Bucky decided to step in. “We will take two lattes, an oatmeal cookie, and carrot cake.”

“Sure,” the guy nodded, sending an amused look at Steve, before he turned to take care of the order, moving fast and with some kind of softness. He even moved like a cat.

“Let’s sit there,” Bucky decided, pointing Steve to a solitary table with comfortable looking armchairs in the back, near the couch, where the two girls that had entered before them were sitting, their laps already occupied by happily looking cats. The order was ready, and Bucky collected it from the barista. They sat down, sipping coffee and Steve bit the oatmeal cookie, which was soft and chewy, really good, complementing the slightly bitter coffee.

“That’s Little Eye,” Bucky said, when a lean cat, half white, half striped, climbed over Steve’s shoulder, trying to sniff at the piece of cookie he was holding, curious what it was and if it was tasty.

“Why it’s calle- oh,” Steve gaped, noticing that cat’s left eye was on the stripy part of its face and appeared bigger, while the right one was on the white part and seemed smaller. The cat sniffed the cookie and decided that liked it and tried to nibble on it. Steve broke off a piece and crumbled it on his knee, letting the cat eat it.

“It’s a she. And there is Ramses,” Bucky pointed to a big black cat with white socks in the lap of one of the girls, “then Blondie,” the tricolored cat sleeping on the other girl’s lap, “Ariel and Cow are sleeping there,” Bucky pointed to the two cats sleeping on the window sill, and Steve guessed that the black and white was Cow, and the big, fluffy one was Ariel. “And there is Crazeh, you need to watch out for him, he can be a bit malicious,” Bucky ended the cats’ introduction, pointing to the big, striped cat playing with another pair of girls at the other end of the cafe, as one of the girls kept waggling a mouse on a fish pole in front of the cat, and Crazeh was pawing and biting at it, as if letting the whole frustration out. It was a bit alarming.

“And who is that?” Steve asked, looking up and seeing green, bright eyes on a fluffy face piercing right through him, belonging to a cat stretched on one of the high cat shelves, away from the people.

Bucky looked around, stopping petting Little Eye, who walked over to him, wanting a bit of frosting from the carrot cake. “Oh, I was wondering where he went!” Bucky smiled. “That’s Figaro. He rarely comes to anyone. At least, I’ve never seen it happen.”

“So, you admit to coming here often?” Steve sent his friend a meaningful look, watching as he scooped some frosting and let Little Eye lick it off his finger.

“Hey, don’t judge,” Bucky laughed, petting the cat, who after licking off the frosting, demanded scratches on her head. “And I told you it was a good place for,” he didn’t finish, just smiled, gently tilting his head in the direction of the girls on the couch, who already were looking at Bucky and smiling, utterly charmed how good he was with the cat.

Bucky was right on that. Soon, the girls joined them, flocking Bucky, and talking with him, mostly about cats. They weren’t interested in Steve, who from the very beginning was less enthusiastic about this whole trip. Steve didn’t mind. He finished his coffee and cookie, and debated ordering the carrot cake, because it looked so good. But what if he once again gets at loss of words in front of the handsome barista. Just like if a cat got his tongue. Hah.

As Steve was battling with himself, he felt a gentle paw on his lap, and a fuzzy face brushing his arm. He looked down and saw a big, overly fluffy, black cat, trying to make his way into his lap.

“Hello,” Steve said friendly, sitting to the back, and moving his hands away, granting the cat with full access. The cat stepped his whole weight into his lap, and he was really big and heavy, Steve estimated it as nearly thirty pounds. That was a big piece of a cat. The cat looked up at him. He had a sweet face, and almond shaped green eyes and a tiny patch of white fur under his chin. Green eyes..

“You decided to come down, Figaro?” Steve asked in a low murmur, gently scratching along cat’s fluffy back. The fur was long and very soft, black with golden brown reflexes. It was a very beautiful cat. Before the cat could settle in fully, Steve saw a pair of hands reaching for the pet and taking him off.

“I’m so sorry! That.. that never happened before..”

Steve looked up in shock, meeting the barista’s worried face. He held Figaro close, scrubbing cat’s head, who looked a bit mad with being taken away from his new spot so quickly.

“Ummm..” Steve started, frowning at the situation. “It’s.. alright? I mean, this is the point of this place? Interacting with the cats, right?”

“Yeah, sure, but–” the barista rambled, looking confounded, “it just.. he will leave a ton of fur on you.”

Steve smiled, not seeing that a problem. “It’s fine.”

“But–”

“Really, it’s fine.”

After a moment, the barista slowly leaned down and put Figaro back on the armchair. Figaro, after making sure that he won’t be yanked away again, stepped back into Steve’s lap, and hid paws under himself as he settled down, looking like a very happy and very fluffy loaf of bread.

“Wow..” the barista, whispered with a relieved smile. “It is the first time I see this..”

Something sounded off in those words to Steve. “You mean he doesn’t come to customers?”

“No, he usually just observes. Really, this is the first time.”

And just like that, Steve realized that the cafe went unnaturally quiet. Literally everyone was staring at him. The girls, Bucky, even people behind the bar were leaning out, to see better. When Steve looked around, his audience scattered and everyone went back to their activities. Just Steve was left with a feeling that he would be carefully observed from now.

“You know, we have to celebrate this. You’re getting coffee on the house,” the barista nodded enthusiastically, collecting empty plates, and almost dropping them down, when Figaro started to purr. “Coffee and a cake,” he laughed happily. “Amazing. I’ve never seen Fig bonding with someone so quickly.”

“Steve is great with animals,” Bucky butted in, sending his friend a toothy smile. “He loves cats.”

“You do?” the barista brightened, even if Steve sent Bucky a panicked look. What was he doing? “Do you have a cat?”

Steve felt a rush of panic again. Thanks, Bucky. “Umm..”

“He is thinking of getting a one,” Bucky answered.

Shut up, Buck, Steve glared.

“Then you are in the right place,” the barista smiled again. Damn, he had a cute smile. “You can adopt one of our cats. It takes a while to get close to a cat, but once you do, it is so worth it. We have many great cats, you just need to spend some time with them.”

“What about Figaro?” Steve asked, petting the cat’s head.

“Oh, Figaro is not for adoption,” the barista said, looking sorry for a split of second, before smiling again, “he is my cat. I sometimes bring him to work with me. I spend a lot of time here, and I don’t want him to get lonely.”

Steve nodded. That was either one of the sweetest things he had ever heard, or one of the most crazy ones. A true crazy cat lady. Just male.

“Did you adopt Figaro from here?” Steve asked, just to keep the barista for a bit longer.

“No, I found Figaro on the street, when he was a kitten. He was left on a road, after someone hit him with a car. His paw got broken and he was too shocked to move away. Can you imagine that?” for a while, brown eyes flashed with anger, until he kneeled down, gently scrubbing under cat’s chin, making him purr crazily. “Good thing you found me, right buddy?”

“You mean you found him,” Steve corrected with a smile.

The barista laughed quietly, it was a funny, high pitched giggle, contradicting with the deep voice. “No. Cats choose people. Like, you see Cow, over there?” he pointed to the spot, where the white and black cat had been sleeping. “She rarely comes to anyone. There is this one girl, she comes here every day, and Cow always brightens when she sees her and immediately trots to her. But not in a dog like manner, she says hi and goes back to her spot. But once that girl sits down, she is stuck here for hours with Cow sleeping on her lap the whole time. She chose her human. We are hoping that soon Cow will find her forever home.”

Steve smiled and he could just listen to him talking for hours, no matter what, just to hear his voice and observe all the little quirks that happened on his face. Steve loved the nose crinkling when he laughed, laugh lines on the smooth face, and considered the long lower eyelashes a beautiful sight.

“Geez, Steve,” Bucky interrupted again, grinning at his friend, not standing Steve just dancing around the other man, “too bad you don’t have a cat, maybe you two could meet and play.”

Steve’s face burned again. What Bucky was doing.

“We can always play here,” he seethed at Bucky, before he could control himself. He looked in panic at the barista. “I meant me and Figaro!” he quickly added, “Not you and me. Not that, I don’t want to play with you, wait, what did I, I meant, that if we–” Steve rambled quickly getting lost in his thoughts. He could swear that he felt Figaro looking at him with pity.

The barista laughed, nose crinkling adorably, as he found the situation cute. “I end my shift at 8 pm. I’m Tony, by the way,” he said, holding the tray with plates and slowly walking away, still facing them both.

“Steve,” Steve meeped out, his cheeks and neck burning.

“Steve. Nice meeting you, Steve. Take care of my cat,” Tony purred, yes, purred, and sauntered back to the bar area, where already some newcomers were waiting, demanding coffee.

“I say it went very well,” Bucky grinned, when Tony was out of the hearing range.

Steve only sent him a grim, pissed off look, pointing his attention back to Figaro, and stroking the cat’s luxurious fur. Slowly, a small smile showed on his face, when he thought about evening. He had a date. With Tony. Who would’ve thought that this afternoon would end like this.

“Aha, saw that,” Bucky pointed out.

“Shut up, Buck,” Steve snarked, focusing on gently petting Figaro, hearing Bucky’s laughter as an answer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony’s and Steve’s first date came and it is full of surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaay, love is blossoming...

The eight o'clock did sneak up on him. It was ironic, seeing that the whole hour, before the date, he had been thinking about Tony, about what would they do, about Tony, about if they stay in the cafe, or go somewhere else, about Tony, about maybe taking him to eat something.. All those thoughts were whirring in his mind, during choosing clothes (casual, but elegant, but not too elegant), during his shower (here, his hand might have slipped, he was a guy after all and had a vivid imagination of an artist and Tony had a sweet ass), during shaving (had to be careful, because, ow), and when he was fresh and ready and pretty and more than sure that he could calmly stroll to the cafe, looking all dazzling, he looked at the clock, and saw that it was 7:50 pm.

Crap.

But there was nothing like a good old, frantic run before a date, right?

When he made it to the cafe it, he was 10 minutes late, and Tony wasn’t waiting for him. He looked in panic around, his heart hammering, because of the thought, that maybe, Tony got irritated and left, and why, he didn’t take Tony’s number, and nice going, Rogers, you will die alone, when–

“Steve, are you alright?!”

Looking like a madman, Steve jumped and saw Tony’s head peeking out through the cafe door, brown eyes puzzled, hair fluffy and worried lips, and his all anxiety melted away. Tony was so pretty.

Still, he had to apologize.

“Sorry I am late!” he practically screamed out.

Tony blinked, looking a bit taken aback by such sudden confession. Steve blushed, which probably couldn’t be seen anyway under the layer of tired red on his cheeks from the run. Slowly, Tony smirked, understanding and feeling a little victorious, but it was really brief, and before Steve could think further about it, the teasing smile changed into something kinder.

“It’s okay. I much more like people who are late, than who come too early,” he winked, and Steve felt light with relief. Or maybe it was just lack of oxygen from the marathon kicking in. “Do you need some water?” Tony asked, meaning the alarming red shade of Steve’s skin and the sweat on his eyebrows.

Great. He had spend long minutes on making himself breathtaking, and shows up in front of Tony all sweaty and tired.

Of course, he had thoughts of showing in front of Tony all sweaty and tired, but it involved much fewer clothes on both parties.

“I’m fine,” he replied, and had no idea why his voice turned out squeaky.

Tony looked amused and sent the blond a warm smile. “I will get you some anyway. Just gimme a sec, okay?”

Steve nodded and Tony got back inside. Once he was gone, Steve started to frantically pat at his hair, trying to get it back to its original shape, but it was a hopeless case. When Tony came out, he was the one who was all fresh and pretty, despite being for the whole day at work, and Steve looked like chewed and spat out. Clearly, Tony didn’t mind, and walked to the blond, bringing in a smell of coffee and cookies, and offering Steve a plastic bottle with water inside.

“Thanks,” Steve said, taking the bottle and unscrewing it, gulping down the half of it, in one go. Tony just watched with amusement, but didn’t comment. As Steve was drinking, he noticed something. In his hand, Tony was holding a strap of material. Looking down, he saw that next to brunet’s feet was Figaro, piercing through Steve with his vivid green eyes.

Steve put the bottle away from his mouth and smiled. “Hi Fig!” he said friendly and the cat blinked slowly, saying hello in his own, unique way. Tony probably brought him, so he could say hi.

“Fig is coming with us. Hope you don’t mind,” Tony smiled.

Wait, what..?

Steve looked confused. He locked his eyes with Tony’s brown ones. From all the date scenarios he had in his mind, he didn’t expect this to happen. Of course, he didn’t mind Figaro. He liked the overly fluffy cat. But didn’t it seriously limit their date destinations..?

Tony had to sense Steve doubts, and suddenly realized, that he might had overstepped the line with taking his cat. He scratched the back of his neck, feeling awkward. “Sorry, I – I can leave him here, if you want–”

“No,” Steve quickly shook his head. He couldn’t ask Tony to do that. He could, but he didn’t dare to, as it was a risky move, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Tony had a special bond with his cat. “I’m okay with you taking Figaro. Going for a walk is a good idea,” he said, meaning it.

Slowly and insecurely, Tony smiled, and Steve couldn’t believe that he was already so lucky to see so many different smiles on the other man’s face. “Alright. He won’t be a bother, I promise.”

Steve nodded. “Then in which direction?” he asked. It didn’t matter anyway which street they would take, as there was no final destination.

“Let’s let Figaro chose!” Tony shouted with a bright smile.

Steve laughed at the enthusiasm. “Cats do that? I thought it was dogs’ trait.”

“Figgy is special,” Tony bragged, “oh!” he felt a tug on the leash, as the cat chose the way, “come on!” Tony reached his hand for Steve and tugged on his sleeve, urging him to move.

Steve followed with a smile. Figaro was trotting in front of them, his fur sweeping nearly in a hypnotizing manner.

“How did you teach him to walk on a leash?” Steve asked, amazed how well behaving Figaro was.

“It wasn’t easy,” Tony laughed, “but it was the only way to take him to work with me.”

“Haven’t you tried using a carrier?”

“Do you remember, when after 20 minutes of having Figaro in your lap, you started to complain, that your legs fell asleep?” Tony asked back with a teasing smile, meaning the cat’s massive length and weight.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t hard to talk with Tony. Their talk was very smooth and Steve only smiled at how every topic, Tony could change into a thing about cats. He didn’t only love the animal, but also respected. Sometimes, he would catch himself, blabbing again about his furry friend, and he would backtrack, asking Steve something entirely different. It was a nice conversation, and Steve really enjoyed it, until Tony literally froze and his mouth fell opened.

“Oh no..” he whined out, hiding his face in both hands, almost slapping himself with the leash.

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked, concern showing at the sudden change.

“Steve, I – I’m so sorry, I didn’t plan it, I swear,” Tony stuttered, lowering his hands down enough, to show a blush on his face and embarrassed eyes, his eyes fixed on a building on their left.

Steve’s eyes followed and he looked at the building. It was new architecture, tall and intimidating. It did look a bit on the pricey side, and nothing like Steve’s apartment in Brooklyn.

And then his brain made a connection and he blushed, looking wide-eyed back at Tony, who fixed his gaze on the ground.

“Oh.. So, this is where you live?” he asked with a small laugh, feeling his blush going away, and probably wandering off to Tony’s cheeks, whose face glowed with brilliant red.

“Y-yeah.. Sorry, I didn’t - FIG!” Tony scolded in a whine.

Figaro looked to the back, locking his green eyes with Tony, innocent as ever. What? They were after work, it was time to get home.

“Don’t worry about it,” Steve smiled, good-naturedly, not considering this as a big deal and sensing that Tony’s embarrassment was genuine. “You’re probably tired after work, you need rest.”

Tony sighed and Steve knew that he was right. Tony looked exhausted. He wouldn’t feel good with dragging him around the city.

“I - ah, sorry..” Tony rubbed his face, trying to wipe the blush away.

“Don’t be,” Steve assured. He took out from his pocket a small notebook, he always carried around with himself, if struck with sudden inspiration or having to write something down, and ripped a page out, writing his number down for Tony. “You can give me a call next time you will have some time.”

Tony nodded and took the piece of paper. “Thanks,” he said in a soft voice, “that had to be like the shortest date ever, right? I think we broke some record,” he tried to joke, feeling that he had to save the situation.

Steve shook his head. “I think it was fun. I’ll see you later, ok?” he smiled and waved goodbye to them both, leaving Tony at the gate. He felt some regret, and really hoped that Tony would give him a call. What if he wouldn’t, though? What if he was dull and boring, and Tony was just polite? Would he just end with stalking Tony through the window of the Meow Cafe, secretly lusting after the attractive brunet? All this made panic ring in his ears, dulling everything.

Oh, it wasn’t panic, it was actually his phone ringing. Steve took his phone out and saw an unknown number calling him.

“Hello?”

“Steve?”

“Tony?”

“Yeah. Um, hi? I know we just saw each other, like 2 minutes ago.. but I was thinking.. do you want to step in for a cup of coffee or something?”

Steve hold a small chuckle back, but couldn’t hold back the smile blooming on his face. He just hoped it won’t show in his voice. “Sure, I would love that.”

“Great!” Tony burst into the headphone, and Steve laughed, as the next thing was a trying-to-play-it-cool grunt. “Great.. So, can you get back here? Me and Fig will wait for you.”

“Heading back right now,” Steve smiled, turning on his heel and walking back. “Are you sure that all this wasn’t a scheme by you and Fig?” he teased, not able not to.

Tony only laughed.

***

“Home sweet home! You don’t have to take your shoes off, by the way.”

“I don’t?” Steve stopped, his whole stance already indicating that he was planning to do so.

“No, you don’t,” Tony chirped, kneeling down and taking the leash off of his cat. “It would be better if you actually didn’t, there are screws lying everywhere around here, Fig likes to play with them. Stepping on them is worse than stepping on a lego,” Tony laughed.

“Oh..” not knowing if Tony was joking or not, Steve decided to leave his shoes on. He looked around the apartment. It was spacious and arranged in white and chocolate brown tones, giving it a warm feeling. It was all in modern style, with big windows, and little details, the newest TV set in the front of an enormous brown couch with white pillows (of course, covered in fur), and few plants (of course, some leaves were bitten around the edges with sharp kitty teeth), and a whole load of cat toys, scratch posts, and the same little shelves for cats that were all over Meow Cafe and were Figaro’s hiding spots. “It’s a nice place - oh,” Steve paused, when his eyes traveled to the far corner, where there was a whole stack of, as he assumed, broken kitchen appliances, forming a dangerously unstable pile on the desk, and a tool box.

“Hobby. I like to tinker,” Tony grinned, following Steve’s gaze. “Usually, I dump it to my closet when someone comes, but you know.. I didn’t expect guests this time..”

“It’s alright,” Steve smiled, thinking that such visits were the best and gave him a nice picture of Tony. And that explained why Fig played with screws. “You will stay like this?” he asked, noticing, that despite his warning towards Steve, Tony took his own shoes off and remained in socks.

Tony shrugged. “I am used to it by now. So, coffee?” he asked, walking to the kitchen. “Make yourself at home!”

Steve took a tour around the apartment, looking through Tony’s impressive Blue Ray and DVD collection, all the time being observed by Figaro, who took as his mission to observe Steve from the cat shelves.

“Tony.. What’s that?!” Steve laughed, noticing a whole collection of small, porcelain cats in one of the cabinets.

Tony peeked out from the kitchen, his face falling when he realized what Steve meant. “Oh no.. That’s also one of the things I hide when I have guests..”

Steve kept laughing and poked at the glass. “That’s adorable. You’re a true cat lady.”

“Shuddap..” Tony whined, “those are gifts from my stupid friends. They always buy me cats related stuff,” he grumbled, disappearing back to the kitchen.

In Steve’s opinion it was charming, that despite, Tony seeming to hate the figures, he kept them all, just because they were gifts. He went into the kitchen, noticing that it was in the same style as the rest of the apartment, with nice brown cabinets and wooden floor panels.

“The coffee express is heating up,” Tony said, rummaging through the cabinets.

“This is your coffee express?!” Steve awed, amazed by the size. It wasn’t a typical home coffee express, but professional ones, and Steve started to think that it was the same model as the one, Tony operated in the cafe.

“You didn’t expect me to offer you water from the kettle and instant coffee, right?” Tony teased, and Steve had to admit, that he loved this teasing side of the brunet. “Are you hungry? I saw a packet of pasta somewhere around here..”

“Sure,” Steve smiled, smiling at the perspective of their coffee date turning into a dinner date. “Oh, hi Fig,” he said, looking down and feeling a brush of fluffiness at his legs.

“He is probably hungry. Can you give him food? It is in the bottom shelf to your left.”

Steve reached his hand and opened the shelf, feeling that he wasn’t prepared for this. It was full of ziplock bags with different dry food, many cans, somethings that looked like long thin sausages and dried, raw meat.. What the –

He took the first bag, and Tony leaned out to see what he took.

“No, Steve, that’s for mornings – not, that’s a snack – take the one behind this one - no, not behind the fish, behind the chicken, it is –”

“Can we switch?” Steve asked, getting desperate. He would trade looking for cat food for looking for pasta. He could swear that Figaro was looking at him with pity and that just added to his discomfort.

Tony laughed, forgetting that for a catless person, it could be a bit challenging. Steve could argue because, for any sane person, it would be challenging. Tony was just clearly cat crazy.

“Sure,” he said, climbing down the counter, and holding a packet of spaghetti. “I find it though, so you can look into the fridge and choose something for the sauce.”

“Okay,” Steve gladly abandoned his station and moved the fridge, opening it, hearing Tony opening one of the zip lock baggies, and pouring some food into the bowl.

“Here you go, buddy,” he cooed softly, and soon the air filled with little, crunching sounds as Figaro began to eat.

Steve dug through the fridge, looking for something he could make sauce from. There was heavy cream and bacon and eggs, so carbonara would be perfect. There were also tomatoes and some fresh herbs on the counter, for napoli sauce. And then he spotted a can of tuna. Taking out the can and heavy cream, he turned to Tony. “What do you say for pasta with tuna in cream sauce?”

Tony eyed the ingredients, before looking back at Steve. “That’s Figaro’s tuna.”

“What?” Steve bugged his eyes out. “This can costs like 5 dollars!” he shouted, before he could think better of it. For crazy cat lady Tony, spending 5 dollars on a can of tuna probably wasn’t a big deal.

Tony pouted. “If I buy him cheaper stuff, he bites my ankles.”

“Are you serious?” Steve blinked, feeling that maybe it was a joke, but Tony solemnly nodded. Huh. Steve turned to Figaro. “Fig? Can we eat your tuna?” he asked, being as serious as he could be.

Figaro munched on his food, and didn’t react.

“I take it as a yes,” Steve turned back to Tony, sending him a meaningful look, and happily noticed that Tony was on a brink of giggling.

“If we give him later the can for licking, it should be fine,” Tony concluded. “Oh, the express heated up!” Tony said, happily and turned back to the machine.

Steve put the can and cream, next to the pasta, watching as Tony pulled on the many knobs, adjusting the express to make two perfect cups of coffee.

“Um.. Tony, can I use the bathroom?” Steve asked, needing a moment for himself.

“Sure, it is on the left,” Tony replied, currently standing on his tip toes to reach for one of the many coffee jars he had proudly stacked, looking for the perfect blend, they both would enjoy.

“Thanks,” Steve replied and with regret, slid to the bathroom, as the look of Tony’s round butt and a bit of waist, when his shirt rode up while he had reached for the jars, was very promising.

The bathroom was surprisingly big. It was kept in a modern style, and had clean white and steel accents, subtly warmed up by the light brown towels. Or how Tony would put, latte towels. The other surprising things, was that Tony had a rather impressive cosmetic collection, as for a guy, of course. Steve had soap, hair gel, body wash and deodorant. From the more fancy cosmetics, he had a luxurious soap, made from only natural ingredients, meant for shaving, and used a razor. It was old fashioned and too slow for modern times, but he remembered how each morning as a little kid, he used to rush to lurk near the bathroom and watch his dad, as he put the thick foam all over his neck, jaw and cheeks and in a few, slow, precise moves shaved, showing clean and smooth skin. The fancy shaving machines were already available, but it was what Steve’s grandpa did, what Steve’s dad did, and what Steve would continue.

He cautiously grabbed the nearest jar, abandoned in the grooming supplies chaos, Tony left behind when he had rushed to work this morning, and mouthed ‘facial cream for night’ as he read the label. Huh. He didn’t even know that such things were available in men’s edition. The rest of cosmetics included facial mask, cream for day, many hair gels and hair pastes, and, of course, proudly displayed electric shaver, Tony used to trim his goatee.

Steve only smiled, and quietly envying Tony, that he had separate bathtub and shower, he went to do what he originally meant first. When he was done, he flushed and closed the toilet seat, out of common courtesy, and washed his hands, not that surprised, that the soap smelled like coffee.

And then he heard scratching on the door.

“Don’t worry, it is Fig, not me!”

“Okay!” Steve yelled back with a smile and opened the door, letting the fluffy cat slid in.

Figaro glanced up at Steve as if asking what he was doing in his bathroom. After the brief exchange, Figaro patted to the toilet and suddenly stiffened, his tail slumping down in shock.

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked the cat, not understanding.

Figaro, as cats have in habit, didn’t answer right away, but when he turned his fluffy face to Steve, the big green eyes showed confusion and had something a lot like desperation in them.

“Fig, what’s wrong?” Steve asked again, this time in a whisper, not wanting to attract Tony’s attention. Did Figaro change his mind and stopped liking him? He knew that his and Tony’s date was purely based on Figaro approving of him, and as soon as Fig would start to hiss at him, Tony would kick him out. And he really liked the quirky brunet..

The eyes changed again. This time, they narrowed with anger, and cat’s fluffy tail, twitched with irritation. Oh no.. Before Steve could completely start to panic, Figaro looked at the toilet, like if being insulted by it, and then back at Steve. He did that a few times, back and forth, and Steve drew his eyebrows in confusion before it dawned on him.

When he had entered the bathroom, the toilet sit was up and when he was done, he lowered it and closed. He knew that cat’s were territorial animals, but that much?

He slowly reached his hand forward, closely observed by Figaro’s green eyes, and lifted the toilet sit. Steve looked at Figaro and he could swear that the cat bowed to him in thank you, or maybe just nodded in approval of the human proving himself useful, after the not being able to find food incident.

Then something terrifying happened, and Figaro leaped, straight into the toilet.

“FIG–” Steve screamed, only imaging the noise the cat would make when falling in and the yelling from Tony, who would think that he tried to drown his beloved pet. He rushed forward, reaching his hands to grab the cat, but Figaro, ignoring the commotion, softly landed on the edge and turned to face Steve.

Steve stopped, not wanting to scare the cat with any rapid movements. He bit his lip and inched closer, needing to take him off.

And then it happened. Figaro lowered his back and started, slowly and steadily, tinkling into the toilet.

Steve’s eyes got big with shock and he stared, not expecting that, before he realized that staring, no matter if it was a human or a cat, at someone who was using the bathroom, was very rude. He ducked his head down, and left the bathroom, leaving an opening for Fig. He got back to the kitchen area, greeted by the enticing smell of coffee.

“Umm.. Tony.. Did.. Did you know that Figaro can use the toilet?” he said and he could swear, that it was one of the most awkward sentences he had ever said in his life.

Tony turned to Steve with an amused expression. “Of course, I know,” he said, putting two white cups with the perfect amount of coffee on the small table in the middle of the kitchen. “It is easier this way. No litter,” he explained.

“He was just outside, why doesn’t he–” Steve had to stop himself. Why was he asking this in the first place?

Tony didn’t seem to be bothered, fetching cream and sugar for the coffee. “Because he doesn’t know how!” he replied in humor. “He never did his business outside, he only knows how to use the toilet.”

And then they heard flushing.

“He can flush too?!” Steve said in shock.

“Yeah,” Tony laughed, “I told you, it is easier this way.”

They both sat down and Steve tasted the coffee, finding it milder, than the one he had at the cafe. Still, he reached his hand for cream, while Tony sipped his without any additions.

“You know,” Steve started a conversation, stirring the coffee, “I half expected you to have all mugs with cat pictures on them,” he joked, feeling comfortable enough to do it.

Tony snorted. “I find that drinking coffee in plain white cups is the best. You focus only on the beverage that way and not get distracted by the colors.”

“But you have such cups, right?” Steve smirked, needing an answer. “Because I will be seriously disappointed if you don’t.”

Tony narrowed his eyes. “Shut up or I will spill the coffee on your crotch.”

Steve only laughed, considering that as a ’yes’.

***

Few cups of coffee later, and some tuna spaghetti, Steve was ready to leave.

“I had fun, Tony, thanks for inviting me,” Steve smiled, pulling on his jacket.

“Me too,” Tony answered softly, looking somehow regretful. “Uh, sorry, I guess if I offer you to stay for the night it would be too creepy and too soon, right?”

Steve laughed. There was something about Tony that made him want to smile all the time. “A bit. But it is not too soon for this,” he flirted and pulled Tony closer by the elbow, placing a delicate smooch on brunet’s cheek. Tony made a bewildered face, but smiled in the end. “I will give you a call soon, ok?”

Tony nodded. “Or you can drop to my work. Whatever is closer.”

“Ok,” Steve smiled back. “Bye Fig!” he called into the apartment, having no idea where the cat was, but needing to say goodbye. “Bye Tony,” he said in a tender voice, locking his eyes with brunet’s. Tony softly whispered ’bye’ and waved his hand, when Steve closed the door behind himself.

Steve waited a moment, and leaned against the door to Tony’s apartment with a barely audible, dreamy sigh. It went better than he expected and he couldn’t wait to meet again with him.

“OW!! Son of a —”

Steve jumped away from the door, hearing a stream of angry curses, coming out from the apartment. “Tony?” he asked, hugging back to the door, and the cursing immediately stopped. “Did you step on a screw?” he asked, amusement coloring his words.

“Uh.. Maybe..”

Steve laughed into the wood, hearing Tony’s scoffing. “I will call you soon!” he promised, leaning away.

“You better,” Tony summed up, and Steve heard him walk away. Steve also went his way, smiling to himself all the time, his steps light.

Maybe Tony was a crazy cat lady, but he was something really special.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve continue to date, and Steve gets to know Tony’s world better, including unexpected guests and visitors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to set the mood for the rest of the story. Buckle up!

“Here you go. And drop by soon, cats will miss you.”

Smile and wink. It was cute. Too cute. How dared he to be that cute.

Steve watched with a grim expression, his hand stroking down Figaro’s fluffy back, the cat comfortably stretched out in his lap, how Tony smiled and flirted with a group of girls, going out from the cafe, that decided to take some cookies with them. Tony kept joking and smiling, and it wasn’t just being polite to the customers. It was 100% flirting.

Steve sighed. Maybe he was just being unreasonable. It was Tony’s job to be nice to the customers.

Just... Could he be a little less nice? He looked down at Fig, calmly napping and leaving fur all over him. He would ask the fluffy cat if he was being unreasonable, but, well, he was sleeping...

Tony and Steve had been dating for three weeks. They were going steady and Steve developed a habit of dropping to Tony’s work each time he had a free afternoon (which was a lot), where he took his place in the comfortable armchair, with a perfect view of the bar area and his working boyfriend.

Yeah, working...

Steve looked grimly, as Tony skipped to him, his footsteps light and a smile already on his face. He leaned down to stroke Figaro’s smooth back and then flicked Steve under his chin, making him blink in shock.

“What are you thinking about?” Tony asked, noticing how quiet the other man was, while he started to collect the empty cup and small plate, on which he had earlier brought coffee and cake for Steve.

Steve looked at Tony’s soft movements and at his small frame. Being jealous in such an early stage of a relationship was never good. But if he won’t set the boundaries now, then when?

Steve sighed, and looked back down at Figaro, caressing cat’s soft back. “Do you have to do that?”

“Do what?”

Quickly glancing around the cafe, and after making sure that, except for Tony’s workmates, they were alone, Steve decided to talk. “You’re flirting with everyone. Right in front of me,” he grunted.

“Flirting?!” Tony laughed, and Steve blushed, wishing for his boyfriend to keep his voice down. “I am not – okay, maybe I am a bit,” he smiled cheekily.

Immediately, Steve sent Tony a harsh look, which just made the brunet grin wider, before looking a bit sorry. At least that.

“Steve, this is a part of my job. You know, to be friendly to customers,” he explained.

“Friendly, not flirting,” Steve raised an eyebrow.

“If I flirt, I usually get bigger tips,” Tony said lightly, like if it should be enough of a reason.

“Oh, so are you a hooker or a barista?” Steve said, before he could bite his tongue back, his dry humor winning.

Luckily, Tony found it oddly adorable when the other man was snarking at him. “A little bit of both,” he murmured invitingly, leaning back to Steve, “working in services mean that I need to sell myself well.”

Steve creased his forehead, not liking what he was hearing. Tony’s smug smile didn’t help either. “I will give you 20$ dollars for each week you won’t flirt.”

“Oh, honey... You can’t afford me,” Tony teased and just so very lightly grazed his lips over Steve’s, before sneaking in a short kiss. That was always nice, and even if Steve was still a bit pouty, he accepted it. “Can I cheer you up with a coffee and cake on the house?” Tony asked as he stood up.

Steve side glanced at the, currently, empty table, before looking back at Tony. “You mean I have to pay for the ones I already had?”

As an answer, Tony just smiled and winked, walking away. Steve smacked his lips together lightly. Even during that short kiss, he could still taste the cookies and coffee, which were Tony’s flavor.

“And stop snacking on cookies, I am taking you for dinner after work!” Steve called after his boyfriend, “where do you even put it all – oh,” Steve stopped himself, eyes traveling to Tony’s round bum. That’s where...

Tony turned around with a grin, knowing that Steve was staring and he definitely didn’t mind.

***

“Huh..? Steve..?” Tony asked, looking blearily around the room. It was late, near 10 pm, and he just woke up from a nap on the couch. He could swear that when he was falling to sleep, he had Steve under himself, and woke up to no warm presence nearby, only a blanket placed over him. “Steve?” he asked again, sitting up and looking around. He felt something cold, thinking that Steve just left while he nodded off, but he couldn’t really blame him, right? Usually, Tony worked in the afternoons till evenings, while Steve was occupied from mornings to late afternoons. Their schedules didn’t match, except for tomorrow, for when Tony was assigned for a morning till afternoon shift.

Tony groaned and rubbed his face trying to get rid of the tiredness. He heard some soft sounds coming from the kitchen, together with a sweet smell. Feeling a bit chilly, he wrapped himself in the blanket and walked into the kitchen.

“Steve..” Tony said softly, watching the blond move around the kitchen, and washing some bowls and spoons. He didn’t leave.

“Oh, hi,” Steve replied, turning his head around. He smiled when Tony stumbled closer to him and wrapped himself around him, as if needing the contact.

“Leave it,” Tony muttered between the shoulder blades, and Steve paused, not knowing what he meant. “The dishes. I have a dishwasher.”

Steve chuckled and resumed washing. “I made a mess, I will clean it,” he answered. As simple as that. He felt Tony yawning.

“Whaat were you doing?”

“I made you something. They should be ready now,” he said, glancing at the oven. With some effort, Steve walked to the table and unwrapped himself from Tony, sitting his boyfriend on the chair. He went to the oven and opened it, the kitchen filling with warmth and a spicy scent.

“Taadaam,” Steve said with a proud smile, taking out a tray of warm cookies, and putting them on a cooling rack with a spatula, one by one. They were the size of a fist and golden, and brimming with walnuts and raisins.

Tony snapped his eyes wide open. “Wow, they look better than the ones we bake at the cafe,” he said, already reaching his hand for one, and snatching it despite Steve’s “hey!”, right away biting into the cookie. It was an oatmeal cookie and it was crispy on the outside and chewy inside. “Mmm! And they taste better! Maybe we should hire you,” he grinned, taking another bite.

Steve looked a little alarmed with Tony devouring a steaming hot cookie, but apparently, the brunet didn’t mind, so neither should Steve. He smiled. “Thought you may need something sweet to your morning coffee,” he explained, already knowing that Tony wasn’t an early riser, and wanting to make tomorrow more bearable for him.

“Sweet?” Tony repeated.

“Yeah. You drink black coffee, right?” Steve asked back.

Tony blinked. Then he knocked on the side of his head, as if just realizing what Steve meant. “Coffee! Riiight.”

Something seemed off. He saw Tony’s cup, the one with already cold coffee, he made himself after coming back from work, and took it, taking a gulp. When the taste got registered by his taste buds, he almost spat the coffee out. Instead, he swallowed it and coughed.

“Oh God... How much sugar do you put in your coffee?!” he coughed out, overwhelmed by the sweetness, feeling his teeth already aching.

Tony watched in amusement, grinning to himself and eating the cookie. He never said he drinks bitter coffee, it was what Steve assumed. Steve took the tray and placed it out of brunet’s reach.

“No cookies for you,” he hissed. Tony had enough of sugar in his diet.

Tony whined and reached his hands up, demanding to be given the sweets back. 

Just then, Steve’s phone started to beep. He put the cookies down and took it out. It was 11 pm. Wherever Steve was, he had always set his alarm to 11 pm, to remind himself that he should get ready for bed and for his morning classes.

“I have to go home, Tony,” he said, putting his phone back in his pocket.

Tony saddened at that, his hand slumping halfway for another cookie. Then he got an idea. “Can’t you stay for the night? I can even move Figaro out of the bed for you,” he said, trying to sound casual, to not show how much it meant to him. And yes, Figaro probably already took the bed for himself, and Tony each night had to move away his fluff ball to have some room for himself.

“I don’t have my things here,” Steve smiled gently.

“I can borrow you mine,” Tony replied, pleased that he didn’t get a ’no’.

“Maybe next time,” Steve leaned down and kissed Tony’s forehead. “I still have some grading to do.”

“Just give everyone Cs,” Tony advised.

Steve rolled his eyes. “You know, people are always saying that and it doesn’t get any funnier.”

“Maybe you just don’t have a sense of humor,” Tony pointed out with a snicker, hissing when Steve batted on his hand, making him drop the cookie down.

“Don’t stuff yourself before sleeping,” he said sternly, watching Tony rub at the top of his palm. To his surprise, Tony started to grin.

“Maybe next time use a ruler, teacher,” Tony winked.

“I’m leaving,” Steve answered, going out from the kitchen.

“You really don’t have a sense of humor!” Tony called, quickly following after Steve. He watched him get dressed and pressed himself to Steve, looking pleadingly at him. “Are you mad at me?”

“No,” Steve answered, again kissing Tony’s forehead. “Just tired. I really have a lot of work once I get home.”

“Sorry,” Tony rubbed at his face, knowing that it was because of him. Steve did spend a lot of time with him lately.

“Get some sleep, Tony,” Steve asked, taking Tony’s face in his hands and looking him in the eyes. He knew that Tony was tired too. “I will drop to your work after classes, ok?”

“Ok..” Tony agreed, standing on his tiptoes to get a goodnight kiss. Steve obliged. Coffee, sugar, and cookies. It was a good taste.

“Goodnight, Tony,” Steve smiled, opening the door quietly and walking out.

“Night,” Tony repeated, watching the door close. He again felt so cold. Wrapping the blanket more tightly around himself, he got back into the kitchen, planning to eat some more of the warm cookies. He just grabbed the first one, when his phone beeped. Puzzled who could it be at this time, Tony looked at his phone.

’Leave the cookies and go to sleep. Night!’ he saw a message from Steve.

Tony groaned embarrassedly, burying his face in the blanket, hiding the goofy smile. He took the phone and tapped ’yes, teacher,’ and added a wink face and sent it to Steve, deciding to listen to his boyfriend and go to bed.

***

It was a slow morning. A very, very slow morning. He had barely any customers, but someone had to go to the cafe during mornings anyways, to feed the cats and clean their litter boxes. He glanced in the direction of wide windowsill where the cats gathered and curled into a warm kitty pile, soaking in the sun, their fur getting a healthy shine. Tony would give much to also curl with them and just go to sleep...

“One cafe americano. Big. To go.”

Somehow he didn’t even notice when suddenly a customer grew in front of him. Tony stared blankly at the guy, before rapidly blinking. The guy eyed him impatiently and Tony just registered the order.

One cafe americano.

Big.

To go.

To go?

It never happened before, that someone stepped into the cafe and placed their order to go straight away. How could anyone walk into a place full of kitties and want to go out the next second?

Clearly, this guy.

Big, buffed and grim, in an overpriced business suit. He was probably between meetings and came in from the nearby skyscrapers. Or stopped by, parking his ridiculously over expensive Porsche on the sidewalk.

The guy grunted impatiently, probably considering Tony dense or something.

“Oh, right!” Tony blurted out. “Um, hi! Welcome to Meow Cafe!” he said in one breath, remembering the cafe’s policy, completing the words with his trademark smile.

Yes, the guy definitely thought he was stupid.

Not that stupid.

“One big americano to go, right away,” Tony confirmed, trying to segregate cafe’s equipment in his mind and remember where they put the plastic cups. “Can I have your name?”

The guy stared again, and ostentatiously looked around the cafe. He was the only customer.

“Cafe’s policy,” Tony explained with a disarming smile. The guy sighed and gave his name, which Tony scribbled on a piece of paper, and asked the guy to sit down, which was met with more unamused looks. All Tony knew was that he still didn’t locate the plastic cups, and was not fond of the guy.

Okay, time to get to work. Tony flicked the coffee machine on, and let it heat, successfully finding some plastic cups under a pile of napkins. With a corner of his eye, he saw that the guy sat on the couch and took one of the magazines from the table to look through. Tony poured the espresso in and started to add the hot water, when Little Eye uncurled from her sunny spot, and started to walk to the new customer.

Oh no.

Tony all tensed, watching the guy staring back at the friendly cat, disgust making its way to his face. Of course, the dude didn’t like cats. Tony gripped the cup tighter, swearing that if the guy even attempts to swat at the cat...

Luckily, Little Eye decided that the newcomer wasn’t worth her attention and walked past by him. Instead, she came to the bar, brushed around Tony’s legs friendly and walked into the cat room, to get some peace.

Pfew...

After a while, the coffee was ready. Tony poured it into the miraculously found plastic cup and put the lid on. He could just walk to the customer and hand him his coffee, but he felt a bit mischievous. He glanced at the name he had scribbled earlier and took a black marker to sign the cup.

“Triton!” he called to get the customer’s attention.

The guy stood up and walked to Tony, irritation going through his whole body. “That’s Tiberius,” he said, hard accent on the name.

Tony smiled in apology, not feeling sorry at all, and batted his eyelashes. “Sorry, Sir, couldn’t read my own writing,” he tried to joke.

“But clearly you are not deaf, aren’t you?” the guy bit, taking his coffee and leaving money on the counter, not getting Tony’s sense of humor.

“Sorry, Sir,” Tony repeated, falsely sweetly, batting eyelashes again.

The guy stared at him. His face smoothened and Tony could see the change, as from tensed and grumpy, he became more opened and loose, eyes changing from irritated to softer.

Uh oh... He had batted eyelashes one time too many. Abort mission!

Panic rushed through him, when the guy leaned at the counter, not leaving, but planning to stay, getting all the signals wrong. He opened his mouth to say something, when the door opened, the little bell ringing.

Steve.

He was saved.

“Hi, babe!” Tony called, way too enthusiastically, needing saving.

Steve stopped for a second, assessing the situation correctly, and watching the customer lean away. He walked to the bar, ignored the guy and played along, leaning to Tony to delicately smooch him on the lips, which Tony had already puckered up. “Hi,” he finally said, looking at the brunet with some sort of fond irritation.

Tony grinned. “Will that be all, Sir?” he turned to the guy, who collected his coffee and grumbled his goodbye, leaving the place, sending sour looks behind him.

When he was gone, Tony slumped with relief, letting out a long breath. That was close.

Steve watched him with amusement. “Flirted with a wrong guy?” he asked teasingly.

Tony made a face, collecting the money from the counter. He counted them and made an even further displeased face. “No tip!” he called dramatically.

Steve’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “Should had accepted my offer..”

Tony waved him off. “You want some coffee, my knight in shining armor?” he asked, just to change the mood, turning to the coffee machine.

“Can I get a chocolate strawberry frappucino?” Steve perked up.

Tony spluttered in indignation. “Get a what a what?!” he asked, turning around to send an outraged look at the other man.

Steve looked all puzzled and innocent. “Chocolate strawberry frappucino? You know, from the secret menu. Doesn’t every coffee place have a secret menu?”

Tony felt his blood boiling. “THERE IS NO –” he went to scream, but stopped himself, seeing that Steve was shaking with quiet laughter. Oh, good one. Tony hissed, just like a pissed off cat, and turned back to the coffee machine. “You will get regular black and enjoy it.”

Steve whined and made little puppy sounds. Unfairly cute.

“Fine, with some milk!” Tony agreed, and could sense Steve smiling.

“Hey, where is Figgy?” he asked, sitting down and petting Little Eye, who came back from the cat room, hearing someone walk in.

“At home. He is not a morning person,” Tony said bitterly, envying that his cat could roll in bed, while he had to go to work to earn money for the said cat’s food and litter. Metaphorical litter.

Steve just nodded, smiling at Tony’s silhouette and petting the lean cat’s back. Tony would finish his shift in an hour and they had a whole afternoon to themselves. And it was a catless afternoon. There were so many places he wanted to take Tony to. It would be a good day.

***

Turned out, that making plans was a total waste of time and Tony, when not allowed to sleep until afternoon, was like a very grumpy child. He temporarily calmed down, when they had gone for burgers and milkshakes, but then whining was back on. Regretting missing out on nice weather, Steve walked Tony back to his apartment, not protesting when Tony dragged him in. Figaro had trotted to them excitedly, missing some company since he had woke up, and after some snacks, he accompanied Steve and Tony, being the little social creature he was. He quickly got fed up with them though, as there were moments when both men got too handy with themselves, and Fig didn’t enjoy the constant fidgeting and retreated to the cat shelve on the other side of the room, waiting for calmer moments.

Time was passing by and suddenly Steve realized that it was getting late, and he had spent his whole afternoon on watching TV on Tony’s couch (and some other things for which couch wasn’t necessary, but was nice to have), while Tony was spread on his belly and hugging Steve around the waist, his face buried in blond’s thighs, finally getting the sleep he wanted so much. To make the picture perfect, Figaro was also in it, curling on Tony’s lower back, in that convenient spot just above the butt. Even if Figaro did curl, he was still impressive in size and resembled a fluffy tire.

Steve sighed blissfully, hating to break the calm atmosphere, but it was getting dark.. And he had classes tomorrow..

“Hey Tony..” Steve whispered, gently scrubbing Tony’s scalp, his fingers getting tangled in the soft, brown hair. “Hey, wake up. I gotta go.”

“Ummhh..” Tony mumbled, squeezing Steve’s waist tighter. “Five more minutes..”

“Go to bed and you will get all the minutes you want,” Steve smiled, increasing the intensity of the head rub. Tony groaned, not liking Steve’s reasoning and buried his face further into the muscled thighs. “Come ooon,” Steve asked again, walking his fingers lower and scratching down brunet’s nape and back, “get off me,” he advised, lips quirking into a smile, when Tony giggled, very quietly, and scrunched his shoulders up. He continued to walk fingers lower and lower, until they reached the shoulder blades, and Tony squealed.

“Stop it!” Tony hissed, trying to wriggle away, but he was stuck thanks to his own cat pressing him down.

Steve’s smile grew. It was just too good. “Stop what?” he hummed out, not going subtle anymore and wiggling fingers along Tony’s left side. It had to be a very good spot, because Tony spasmed in laughter and yanked hands to himself, not letting Steve even get to the underarm area.

“Quihihihit it!” he giggled out, pressing arms along his body proving to be useless as Steve’s hand was already there and he kept fluttering fingers against the spot.

“This is too cute,” Steve announced with glee, turning more in Tony’s direction, attacking both sides.

“NAA-AHAHA!” Tony tossed around, spasming under the teasing touches. Figaro opened both of his eyes, clearly irritated with humans being loud again, and he jumped of off Tony, getting his fluffy self back on the cat shelves.

Tony, free of Figaro’s weight, scrambled up and tried to escape off the couch, not feeling sleepy any longer. Steve, who didn’t feel like leaving anymore, tackled the brunet back into the cushions and trapped in a hug, getting his hands all over Tony’s upper body.

“NO NO NO!!” Tony yelled despite the laughter, trying to wriggle out of the embrace. “HIHIHIHII!!”

Steve kept smiling, absolutely loving the situation. It was something great about being able to make Tony laugh so carefree and beautifully. “So, were you planning on telling me that you’re ticklish?” he asked, just to torment him a bit more.

Tony laughed louder and tried to slap Steve’s hands away, when they ventured to the more sensitive parts on his stomach. “I – AHAHAM NOT! HAHAA!”

“You’re not?” Steve asked with a laugh. “So, how do you call it?” he mocked, doubling his attack and getting Tony’s sides and belly, making him curl and kick, and throw his head back as he let out laughs after laughs, that seemed to fill the whole room.

Steve felt something warm and fuzzy inside, as he kept reducing Tony into a cute pile of giggles. He started to smile even wider, when he realized that in the way Tony curled and tried to push him away, he very much resembled a cat, playing with a toy. His little kitty.

Tony kept laughing and laughing, his face turning pink. He didn’t mind terribly the playful fight, but enough was enough. Time for back up. “FIIHIHIHIG!! HEHEHELP!!”

“You’re calling Fig for help?!” Steve laughed, undeterred in his task of tickling Tony’s sides and belly, which seemed to be very sensitive spots on him. “This must be driving you cra – AAAH!!” Steve screamed in shock, when, not knowing from where, something heavy and fluffy jumped on his head, blocking his whole vision. He heard Tony laugh for the last time and tumbling down on the floor, where he continued to laugh, this time at what was happening than because of the tickles.

“OW OW OW - FIG - OW!” Steve yelped, when the cat used his claws to walk down Steve’s back, and it was like small needles pinning into his skin. Figaro jumped down on the floor, landing next to Tony, who took the cat in his arms, smiling brightly and kissed his cat’s head as a thank you.

Steve blinked, just realizing that he was attacked by Figaro, when Tony had called him for help. The confusion must have shown on his face, because he heard Tony’s bright laugh again.

“Cute. Very cute,” Steve growled out, massaging his clawed shoulder.

Tony stuck his tongue out. “You attacked me. Serves you right.”

“Fine. Then I am going home,” Steve faked being offended and stood up, walking to the door.

“Oh, come on!” Tony called with a laugh, putting Figaro down and going after the other man. “You don’t have to go,” he said, coming closer and taking Steve by the collar. Really... He didn’t have to...

Steve looked at Tony, at the sweet blush that remained on his cheeks from the tickling, at the sparkling eyes and slightly parted lips. Maybe he really didn’t have to go..

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!

Tony opened his eyes wide, and Steve frowned. It was too late to have unexpected visitors. Tony lived in an apartment building after all, so maybe some of his neighbors got irritated with them making noise at such late hour.

“Tones! Open the door!”

“Oh!” Tony gasped a little, brushing away from Steve, clearly recognizing the voice. He turned the lock and opened the door, yelping the next second when someone stumbled into his arms.

“Rhodey!” Tony squeaked out, trying to hold the man up straight.

Steve stood there, just watching as the newcomer leaned more on Tony and brushed his cheek against Tony’s, in an overly friendly gesture. He had an enormous smile plastered on his face, and was barely standing, slurring his words a little. Obviously drunk.

“Rhodey–!” Tony tried to interrupt man’s drunk blabbing and walked him further into the apartment.

“Hey Fig! Looking good!” the man Tony addressed as Rhodey called, spotting Figaro sitting on the couch. Figaro looked back at him, torn between being pleased by another familiar face dropping by and being irritated that it would be loud again, while it was high time for his twelve-hour nap. The cat had to decide to look for peace some elsewhere and marched into the room where Tony’s bed was.

“Rhodey–” Tony tried to again get his friend’s attention, but he was in a real chatty mood.

“– and then I checked into my pocket, and it wasn’t there! Can you believe that?! But, oh, luckily, I didn’t lose this,” he slurred, digging into his front pocket and taking something out, dropping it on Tony’s palm. “Hope you like it!”

Tony glanced at the gift and huffed, seeing a small porcelain cat, this one black and white, curled in a little ball, just waiting to join his collection. “Thanks. Just what I needed,” he said somehow bitterly. “Rhodey!” he called again, not letting his friend open his mouth back again. “This is Steve!” he pointed to the stunned blond, who didn’t find his place during the whole exchange and still stood nearby the door.

Steve gaped, not expecting the attention to focus on him now. Rhodey turned his brown eyes on Steve and it was almost startling how wide and cheerful he smiled.

“Steve! Yeah, of course, I know Steve! Your current boyfriend of the month, right?” he asked, and Steve all tensed at the words, while Tony ducked his head down and blushed. What..? “Hi, I am James Rhodes, Tony’s buddy, but you can call me Rhodey,” he introduced himself, and Steve was too stunned to say something and limited himself to a courteous nod.

Rhodey, not sensing the awkwardness he had caused, patted Tony’s arm. “Gonna leave you two lovebirds alone. I will be in my room,” he yawned, and much to Steve’s horror, strolled straight into Tony’s bedroom, closing the door behind himself.

Tony rubbed his face tiredly. Well, this was awkward... “Ugh, sorry about that..” he turned back to Steve.

Steve didn’t hear him, still processing what just happened. Tony’s friend came. Tony’s friend called him ‘current boyfriend of the month’. The said friend, went to sleep to Tony’s bedroom, calling it his room. Today morning, he had walked on Tony flirting with some other guy.

“Steve? Are you ok?”

No, he wasn’t ok. He felt a bit sick, to be honest.

“Hey..”

Steve felt a soft touch on his hand and finally focused, seeing Tony’s insecure smile.

“Sorry about him,” Tony said in a quiet voice, “Rhodey tends to drop by unexpected, especially when he has a drink or two too much,” he explained, trying to keep his voice light.

“Does he drop by often?” Steve asked, not able to stop himself.

Tony shrugged. “We are friends. Often enough.”

“You seem to be friends with many people,” Steve bit, suppressed anger getting into him and making him tense.

Tony stared in disbelief at the blond. He drew his hand away. “Okay. What is your problem?” he asked in a hiss.

“Today morning I walked on you flirting. Evening, you have some guy walking into your bedroom like he has been sleeping there every night –”

“That’s all overstatements!”

“– and then I am being called your ’current boyfriend of the month’! What does that even mean?!”

Tony closed and opened his mouth, temporarily at a loss of words. He once again rubbed his face, a nervous tick, something Steve could find adorable, but not in those circumstances.

“It’s a joke, Steve!” Tony shouted, as it should be obvious, “I flirt a lot in my job, and Rhodey refers to my regular customers as my boyfriends!”

“Is this supposed to make me feel better?” Steve asked, not believing what he was hearing. “How many of your customers were you dating before me?!”

“Zero,” Tony hissed with anger, and he said it so quickly and strongly, Steve immediately believed him, “I don’t date customers! Work policy!” he added, finding it necessary.

Steve pointed between them. “So how do you call this?”

“When was the last time you paid, Steve?” Tony asked, eyes narrowing with something ugly.

This time it was Steve who closed and opened his mouth. After their first date, he was a regular customer in the Meow Cafe. But he never paid. Was Tony treating him all the coffee and cookies and cakes, reducing the cost of everything from his own paycheck, just to not make him a customer?

Tony sighed, and it was long and miserable. Steve looked at him, and felt some painful tug in his chest. He had just accused Tony of many things. All unrightfully, as it turned out.

“I’m sorry,” he said, finding Tony’s eyes with his, really meaning it.

Tony smiled weakly, his smile growing a little bit, when Steve took a step closer and framed Tony’s face with his hands. “It’s ok..”

“I will make it up to you,” Steve promised, leaning down and kissing the tip of brunet’s perky nose.

“Mhm. It’s fine,” Tony hummed, putting his hands on the other man’s hips. It was okay again.

“Tony..” he had to ask this, even if it would lead them back to arguing. “Will you and Rhodey sleep in the same bed?”

“Yeah,” Tony answered with a laugh, not considering it a big deal. “Rhodey is like my brother. We met in college and it wasn’t unusual for us back then.”

“Ah..” Steve nodded, still feeling unsure.

Tony stood on his tiptoes and moved hands from Steve’s hips to his neck and pulled him a little bit down, making their foreheads meet. “Rhodey was always there for me. It would mean a lot to me if you get along. When he gets sober that is,” he added with a snicker.

Steve nodded. He couldn’t argue with that.

“When..” Tony started to talk again, and Steve listened carefully, feeling that Tony became stiff. “When.. my parents died, I was all alone. At least that’s what I thought, but then it turned out, that I still had Rhodey. I don’t know if I would make it, if it wasn’t for him.”

Steve looked terrified. He hugged Tony close. “I’m sorry,” he whispered into his boyfriend’s ear.

“It is ok. They weren’t the best parents anyway,” Tony laughed weakly, even though his voice cracked a little and became moist.

Steve held Tony tightly in his arms. “When did it happen?” he didn’t want to open any wounds, but felt that it was an important part of Tony’s history.

“After I graduated. Car accident.”

Steve nodded, not finding any words. He didn’t let go of Tony, grateful for the moment and his boyfriend’s honesty.

“And your parents?” Tony asked quietly. It seemed fair to share such information on both sides.

“Dad died when I was little. I barely remember him. Mom passed away ten years ago, she was sick,” Steve answered in a neutral voice.

“Well, fuck,” Tony laughed sorrowfully, hugging Steve even tighter. “I really am a shitty boyfriend,” he scolded himself with a laugh. It was Steve who needed love, not him.

Steve laughed quietly and shook his head, denying the statement and so very happy, as it was the first time, Tony called himself his boyfriend. He was afraid that he was more invested in the relationship than Tony was, but today, even if it had moments that were utterly terrible, proved him wrong.

“Will you manage with your friend? Do you want me to stay?” Steve asked. He didn’t imagine their first shared night like this, but he wouldn’t leave Tony without help.

Tony nodded and drew slightly away from the hug, so they could look at each other again. “No, I will be fine. I will give him strong coffee in the morning and he will be good to go,” he smiled and Steve felt relieved, seeing that it was the same bright smile. The same smile, Tony was giving him since they met, the smile that was only for him.

“Okay,” he leaned down and locked his lips with Tony’s in a kiss. Knowing that Tony would be fine, he left the apartment. When he reached his own block, he felt love rising in his chest, and knew that they both would be fine.

***

Or not.

Steve walked into the Meow Cafe, approximately an hour before Tony was ending his shift. He saw Tony in many different situations, but this was new. New and terrifying.

Tony was behind the bar, making coffee and bawling his eyes out. His nose was red, and tears were streaming down his face, and he looked utterly miserable.

“Tony?!” Steve called, not caring that the present customers turned to him, Steve’s yelling disturbing their relaxing times with cats. Tony looked up at Steve and sniffled, waving his hand at him, greeting him that way. “Babe, what happened?!” Steve leaped to Tony, stopped by the bar and debating if he would get deep in trouble if he would just jump over it. He needed to get to Tony.

Tony’s co-worker, a medium built guy, with round glasses and a head of funnily curling locks, looked concerned from Tony to Steve. He sighed, and walked to Tony, chasing him away from the coffee express.

“Tony, you can leave earlier today. I will take care of everything,” he said, taking the coffee blend Tony was holding.

Tony sniffled. “A-a-are you sure?”

“Yeah, I am sure. Go calm yourself down in the cats’ room,” he replied, walking to the front of the bar, and opening it, letting Steve in. Steve thanked him and hurried to Tony who already reached his hands in Steve’s direction, wanting, no, needing a hug.

“Okay,” Tony sniffled, buried against Steve and safely wrapped in his arms, “thanks, Bruce... Just try to not yell at the customers this time, ok?” he teased, through his sobbing.

Bruce laughed, brown eyes sparkling, having some green reflexes in them. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

Tony took Steve’s hand and guided him to the door signed with 'for cats only’. Steve shot a puzzled look at Bruce, who already engaged in making coffee, thinking that the guy couldn’t possibly have anger issues and that Tony had to be joking. The cats' room, turned out to be quite pleasant. It had cat beds, bowls with fresh water and food, some scratch posts, and a small, fur-covered sofa for human visitors.

Once the door closed behind them, Tony lost all his composure, and literally started to wail, leaning himself over Steve.

“Tony!” Steve gasped terrified, holding his boyfriend tight. “Babe.. what happened?” he asked in the softest voice, preparing himself for the worst. He didn’t spot Figaro in the cafe, and felt a cold shiver, thinking that the bad news could be about him.

Tony sniffled some more before he could voice himself out. “She.. she is gone, Steve..”

Steve blinked, feeling puzzled. She? “Who, babe?” he asked, petting Tony’s head.

More sniffling. “C-Cow!”

Oh. The black and white cat. “What? Why? What happened to her?” Steve asked. Cow was a funny cat. She had big round eyes and the softest fur (even softer than Figaro’s, not that Steve would ever admit that to Tony), but the last time Steve saw her, she was happy and healthy.

“N-nothing. She got adopted..” Tony continued to sob.

Steve frowned, remembering the day he met Tony and their talk. There was that girl that wanted to adopt Cow. And it finally happened. But it should be a good thing, right..?

Steve swallowed, holding Tony closer. “Oh, babe... Are you worried that Cow went to a bad home?”

Tony shook away from Steve’s hug, and looked at him in shock, which was all spoiled by the teary eyes. “No! She will have a great home!” he snapped, his face scrunching back into a crying one. “She will be so happy in her new hooomeeeee..” he began to wail again and hid face in his hands, crying shaking him all up.

Steve didn’t do anything for a while. He watched Tony, tearing up and sobbing and, a bit, disgusting, and then it dawned on him. Tony wasn’t sad that Cow was taken away. He was happy, that one of his cats found a home and would have all the petting and food and love, all for themselves.

Wow.

“Tony... Come here,” Steve whispered with love and affection, pulling his boyfriend back into his arms, kissing the tears away and completely enamored with him. Tony clutched back to Steve, and they cuddled on the sofa, while Tony was crying his heart out, and telling the details of the adoption and how the day looked, mentioning that they were promised to receive pictures of Cow in her new home and how much he was looking forward to seeing them.

Steve listened to the incoherent stories mixed with sobbing with a gentle smile and a whole lot of patience. Tony was a crazy cat lady, but he was Steve’s crazy cat lady, and he wouldn’t trade him for anyone else.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve take a big step in their relationship, summer is getting closer and everything starts to fall apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you thought that this will be a cute, happy love story with a lot of cats, well... you were wrong *insert evil laughter*

“For he’s a jolly good fellow, for he’s a jolly good fellow!”

Steve just stood there, smiling awkwardly, feeling an urgent need to hide. He was surrounded by Tony’s workmates, bellowing their lungs out, and a very enthusiastic Rhodey moving his hands in broad gestures, acting as a conductor. It was near Meow Cafe closing time, and thankfully there were no customers and just cats were looking at the small, loud crowd curiously.

“For he’s a jolly good feeeee-lloooow! Who finally broke Tony’s curseee!”

The song ended with cheering and round of applause, and Steve bursting into laughter. Tony was standing in the corner, far away from everyone, hiding face in his hands, his ears burning red from embarrassment and not associating with any of those wackos.

“Happy one month anniversary!” everyone bellowed, urging Steve to blow a single candle stuck in a symbolic donut. Steve, smiling so bright his cheeks hurt, did as he was told, which was followed by another burst of enthusiasm.

“Congratulations!”

“You made Tony a decent man!”

“Tones, come over here!”

“I don’t know any of you people..” Tony muttered, fanning out his fingers a bit and glaring at his so called friends.

“Come on,” Rhodey urged, jumping to his friend and wrapping an arm around him, forcefully guiding him into the crowd. “We are just happy for you, man! You made it, one month mark!” he congratulated Tony, knowing Tony’s past and that he never before was in a committed relationship.

“I hate you in particular,” Tony grumbled, shooting daggers at Rhodey. “If we didn’t break up so far, Steve is definitely thinking it now!” he called dramatically. Of course, having a bunch of losers as friends was a sufficient breakup reason in Tony’s world.

“He is not!” Rhodey assured, the next second turning to Steve, smile disappearing immediately, “you’re not right?” he asked in a voice, that indicated that if he was, Rhodey would personally pummel him into the ground.

“No, I am not,” Steve assured with a laugh, opening his arms and taking Tony from Rhodey, letting his boyfriend hide into him. He could understand that Tony felt painfully embarrassed, but to Steve it all was sweet.

“Time to close the cafe,” Pepper, the owner of the place, reminded looking at her wrist watch. She was a tall, slim woman and she knew Tony since forever.

“Okay,” Tony nodded vigorously, relieved for the change of topic. He almost went to the bar area to clean, when Pepper hooked a single finger around his collar, stopping him.

“Not you, sweetie,” she cooed, “you’re free to go. Rhodey can stay and clean instead of you,” she added with a sweet smile.

Rhodey clicked his tongue and made a finger gun at Tony and Steve. “Only if you two crazy kids promise to have a goooooood evening,” he winked.

Steve laughed and Tony whined, his face getting adorably red as he started to slap at his best friends to make him stop acting like a dork. Steve just smiled. He watched Bruce, Pepper and Rhodey organizing the cafe, closing it for the night, and waited for Tony to say goodnight to all cats and buckle up Figaro. They stepped into the evening, nodding to Hogan, who everyone called Happy, Pepper’s husbands, who came to pick her up after work. Tony remained silent for a while, just watching Figaro trotting in front of them, sometimes stopping to sniff at some grass.

During one of such stops, Tony finally started to talk.

“Sorry for that,” he sighed, still feeling ashamed about what Steve had to go through.

“Don’t be, I think it was sweet,” Steve smiled, watching Figaro burying his fluffy face into the grass.

“You don’t know how it is to have embarrassing friends,” Tony grumbled, looking down at his feet.

“Oh, I don’t?” Steve raised an eyebrow, looking back at his boyfriend. “You remember Bucky?” he asked, referring to their first meeting. Bucky practically had forced Steve on Tony that day. Still, it turned out well, but those were very mortifying minutes for Steve.

“Oh, yeah,” Tony perked up, his face brightening at the memory, “man, you couldn’t flirt to save your life,” he laughed, remembering how Steve froze the second he had seen him behind the bar.

“Thanks,” Steve rolled his eyes, not needing to be reminded of that. It was enough that Bucky was rubbing it in his face each time they saw each other.

“How is he doing by the way?” Tony asked, resuming walking, as Figaro lost interest in the grass and moved forward, dragging Tony along. “I didn’t see him in the cafe for a while now.”

“He is fine,” Steve said, hooking his fingers with Tony’s and taking his hand in his, happy when Tony tightened their hold, a final sign that his boyfriend stopped pouting. “I am meeting with him next week.”

“Oh, what will you be doing?”

“Just watch a game. We always do that,” Steve smiled. It was his and Bucky’s small ritual.

“Can I come too?” Tony asked, experimentally. He knew he was barging in, but was curious of the answer.

“Sorry babe, no girlfriends,” Steve answered lightly, yelping the next second when his ‘girlfriend’ hit him in the arm with a fist, strongly enough to hurt. Even Figaro stopped and looked to the back at what his humans were doing. “Ow!” Steve laughed, rubbing his sore shoulder.

Tony stuck his tongue out. “Booo you, I didn’t want to watch your stupid game anyway,” he answered as the mature person he was.

Steve laughed and instead of taking Tony’s hand back, he wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. “If you want I can ask Bucky,” he amended with a friendly smile.

Tony shrugged. “Nah, I don’t watch sports anyway. It’s boring for me.”

“Then why did you ask?” Steve laughed.

“Just testing,” Tony replied snootily. “And you failed spectacularly.”

Steve shook his head, looking theatrically at the night sky above them, but there was a small smile on his lips. Drama, drama, drama.

They stopped at the gate, leading to Tony’s apartment complex. He took out his keys and opened the entrance, Figaro already rushing inside, wanting to get home, and Tony stopped him.

“Are you going in?” he asked Steve, who stood by the gate.

Steve stuffed hands in his pockets. “It is late, Tony.”

“So?”

“It is late. If I come in, I will probably stay for the night.”

Tony smiled, a little mischievous. “And that would be bad because..?”

“Tony..” Steve cocked his head to the side, eyeing the other man with some worry. Enough of jokes.

Tony swallowed and started to pick on the material of Fig’s leash. “You don’t have to come in if you don’t want to. Or you can come in and go out later. Or come in and stay.”

“Oh?” Steve couldn’t help but feel a little victorious, seeing his cocky boyfriend act less confident. “I don’t have my toothbrush. Or my jammies.”

Tony huffed and looked back at Steve, his whole posture irritated, and Steve could swear that he resembled a puffed out cat. “Just get in, jerk,” he decided, walking in, and Steve following, smiling from ear to ear.

***

In their month long dating time, Steve didn’t stay for the night even once. When he thought about, he didn’t even see Tony’s bedroom, except for those short moments, when Figaro was clawing on the bedroom door, demanding to be let in, or when Tony asked Steve to check where Figaro went, and he popped his head into the bedroom to see if there was any big ball of fluff on the covers, which usually was.

They sat in the kitchen, eating a light dinner, Figaro munching his dry food in the background. Tony and Steve didn’t talk, temporarily focusing their attention on the cat, who after eating, licked around his mouth and softly patted out of the kitchen, and undoubtedly pushed the bedroom door open, ready for sleep.

Tony and Steve looked at each other. Tony smiled awkwardly, and Steve did the same. He patted his thighs and zipped mouth in a tight smile.

“It’s time for me to go,” Steve said, standing up. “Do you want me to help you clean?”

“Yeah,” Tony sighed, shaking his head the next second, “um, no, I meant no. I will handle this.”

“Okay,” Steve smiled, a little forced smile and leaned down to give Tony a goodnight kiss. “Goodnight, babe.”

“Night,” Tony replied, the kiss falling on the corner of his mouth. Steve drew slightly away, but kept himself lower, eyes locked with Tony’s eyes. At those gorgeous brown orbs, Steve could look into for the whole days. He thought how nice it would be to see them as the first thing in the morning and the thought sent some electric shiver up his spine. Tony blinked, his eyes shining with something dark, and it was all the move Steve registered, before Tony clasped hands around his head, pulling him down into a heated kiss. Mouth clashing, they kissed and kissed, long and biting, stealing the breath away from each other.

“Steve..” Tony whispered, when he managed to get some breath back, hands traveling to the back of blond’s head and wrapping into his sleek hair.

“I know, I know,” Steve reassured, pulling Tony up and lifting him off the floor. Tony laughed in delight, squeezing Steve’s narrow waist with his thighs, holding to him in that way, lowering for more kisses.

“Bedroom,” he demanded, tugging at Steve’s bottom lip playfully with his teeth, before soothing it with a kiss.

“What’s your hurry,” Steve teased breathlessly, squeezing Tony’s perfectly round bum, digging fingers into the supple flesh.

“You’re – a cruel man,” Tony complained, eyes closing and breath becoming irregular because of the kisses peppered down his neck. “So… so cruel,” he gasped out, when Steve sucked gently his Adam’s apple. “Steve!!” Tony cried out, rolling his hips into Steve’s stomach and the moment he felt the proof how much Tony wanted him in that moment, he literally run to the bedroom, and tossed Tony on the bed, making him bounce.

Not only him.

“Ow!” Tony complained because of the fall, and laughed, seeing a very indignant Figaro bouncing off the bed and running out from the room, leaving the spot he usually slept on. “Sorry Fig!” he called after the cat, not feeling sorry at all, when Steve sunk after him, tearing clothes off of them and claiming with his mouth and hands every inch.

***

Slowly, Tony blinked his eyes open. It was bright outside, and he felt truly blissful. The last night with Steve was so good. Better than he could ever imagine. He turned on his side, looking for warmth and his boyfriend and his heart stopped, seeing that the half Steve took during the last night, was empty.

“Steve?” Tony called groggily, lifting on his elbow. He touched the sheet and felt some residual warmth behind, guessing that the other man left not so long ago. Then he noticed a piece of paper on the pillow. He took it with two fingers and rolled on his back, reading the note and smiling at the small hearts drawn next to his name.

’Morning Tony,

Went to buy breakfast. Will be back soon.

Steve’

The smile on Tony’s face became wider. He pressed the note to his chest, feeling like on a cloud. It was a great start of the weekend.

“Fig?! Come here, kitty kitty kitty!” he called into the apartment, aware that he would have to apologize to his cat for being so brutally chased away last night. “Figgy!” Tony tried again, but Figaro didn’t come. “Huh..” Tony frowned, lifting himself up and sitting, causing the note to slide down and fall on the backside. Tony saw something scribbled there and his eyes widened up, breath stopping in his chest.

’Ps. took Figaro with me.’

***

“Hey, don’t pull so much!” Steve scolded in a laugh, barely catching up with Figaro who was nearly running on his leash, wanting to get to the house faster. He saw Steve buying a can of tuna, his tuna, and wanted to get to the smelly goodness as soon as possible. “You’re impossible,” Steve laughed, stopping in front of the door, and putting the bag with groceries down, fishing out a key from his pocket. He unlocked the door and let Figaro slid in, grabbed the bag, and walked after him. Before he could lock the door, he heard a wheeze.

“Fig!” Tony called, hair ruffled and with a sleepy, terrified face. He was still only in boxers, Steve had pry off of him last night, and ran to the cat, taking him in his arms and kneeling down. “Fig…” he repeated, looking relieved, and brushing cat’s luxurious fur, as if having to be sure that he was safe and sound.

Steve watched the scene, feeling uneasy. Tony looked like if Fig went missing for a year and miraculously came back, not as if he just returned from a 20 minute walk. “Um, hi?” he asked, insecurely, closing the door and taking his jacket off.

Tony turned up his worried eyes at Steve, half of his face hidden behind the fluffy fur. “Hi,” he replied, miserably, putting Figaro down and taking the leash off of him. Steve could swear that his hands were shaking as he did so.

“Tony. What’s going on?” Steve asked, pulling eyebrows together.

“Nothing!” Tony obviously lied, taking the leash off and watching Fig trot away, and go into the kitchen to wait for his tuna. He stood up and looked at his bare feet, seeming embarrassed with his outburst.

For Steve, it was all slowly clicking together. Tony obviously freaked out, because he took Figaro on a walk, without asking him for permission. Granted, he should had asked, but considering the last night, he really thought it wasn’t necessary.

“You don’t trust me with Figaro?” Steve asked, although it was more of a statement than a real question.

Tony lowered his head even more. “It… It isn’t that I don’t trust you…”

“Then how is it?” Steve asked, crossing arms on his chest. He really thought they were getting somewhere. They were dating for a month. They slept together. Heck, he even had keys to Tony’s apartment, but he wasn’t allowed to take Figaro on a walk?!

Tony whined and looked up. “It is not that I don’t trust you with Figaro! I don’t trust anyone with him!”

“What?” Steve frowned. It didn’t make sense to him.

“Steve,” Tony said miserably, “it’s just the matter of safety. What if the leash was too loose and he would slip out–”

“Oh, so you think I am not responsible enough to take care of him?”

“No! … I… ”

“I don’t get it, Tony,” Steve said in an irritated voice, “you trust me enough to give me keys to your house, you trust me enough to let me sleep with you, but you don’t trust me enough to take care of your cat?”

Tony laughed forcefully. When Steve put it like that, it did sound idiotic. “Shows how much my priorities are screwed up, eh?” he asked, sounding tired. Tired and sad.

Steve couldn’t stay mad. He walked to Tony and gently put his hands on Tony’s cheek, brushing his face with fingertips. “Babe, tell me the truth. What’s going on?”

Tony took a shaky breath. He knew he wouldn’t get out of this so he might as well confess it all. “The last time Fig was outside without me, he was hit by a car,” he mumbled, looking down.

Steve nodded, remembering the story. “Yeah, you mean the day you found him.”

Tony nodded back.

“Tony, you know I would never let anything bad happen to him, right?” he assured Tony, forcing him to look back at him.

“I know, I know,” Tony smiled weakly, putting his hand on Steve’s big and warm ones. He closed his eyes. “I just panicked.”

“That’s understandable,” Steve agreed, “you’re my crazy cat lady.”

Tony snorted, arms shaking with the laugh, before he applied a serious face back on. “I can just still hear it sometimes…”

“Hear what?”

“The car. The sound of tires screeching.”

Steve felt his blood turn cold. “You – you saw Fig being hit?”

Tony’s eyes were closed and he nodded slowly. Steve had no idea. He always thought that Tony just found him, laying on the street.

“And the car just drove away. They didn’t even stop. Just left him there,” Tony continued his story, voice colored with some anger. “I went there, not knowing if he was still alive or not, just knowing I had to do something. He had his eyes open and was breathing with effort, just in shock from the hit and pain and I took a cab, and took him to the vet… When they brought him back, he was so small and had his hind paw wrapped in a blue elastic band. They asked me, if I want to keep him or I could leave him in the clinic. I knew I couldn’t leave him. He was mine, Steve. Fig probably doesn’t remember any of that, but I will always remember.”

Steve listened to the story with a worried face. He had no idea, Tony saw it all. It had to look terrifying. And the car didn’t even stop? People could be so cruel.

He could do only one thing in this situation. Steve leaned to the front and placed a kiss on Tony’s forehead, making his boyfriend open his eyes.

Steve smiled. “Fig is lucky to have you. I am lucky to have you.”

Tony blushed a little bit, but smiled back, words warming his heart. “Sorry I freaked out…” he said, meaning it.

“It’s okay,” Steve said, meaning it. “You’re a crazy cat lady, and that’s how I like you,” he winked, letting go of Tony and taking the bag with groceries. “Breakfast?”

Tony nodded, feeling hungry after all this drama. “Did you get donuts?”

“Donuts?”

“Yeah, donuts,” Tony repeated, looking surprised. “I always have donuts for breakfast. Or pop tarts. It’s a tradition,” he replied, walking together with Steve into the kitchen.

Steve laughed to himself, watching Tony walk straight away to the coffee machine and turning it on. “As delicious it sounds, I thought we could eat something else,” he said, plucking out of the bag a can with tuna for Fig and scooping it into a bowl for a very anxious cat.

“What?” Tony asked, smiling at the sight of his cat, purring and greedily munching on the offered fish.

“Hmmm..” Steve walked to Tony and put his hands on his boyfriend’s bare sides, swaying with him a bit. “I was thinking about bruschettas with chopped fresh tomatoes, basil, mozzarella pearls and olive oil and crema di balsamico,” he said enticingly, beaming when he saw that Tony’s mouth nearly started to water.

“I can live with that,” Tony agreed magnanimously, masking his true feelings, “just don’t make a habit out of it,” he warned.

Steve only smiled and leaned down, locking their lips in a kiss, and then slapping Tony’s ass to get him out of the kitchen and go and get dressed. Having half-naked Tony prancing around him was too distracting.

***

The summer was just around the corner, and New York started to empty, as people were leaving for vacations. Steve ended his last class today, preparing mentally for two months he could spend only with Tony, well, Tony and Figaro, when on the corridor, while he was on his way to the exit, he was reminded of something by a different teacher. Something that in this all romance he was experiencing lately got lost, and the reminder made him feel like a deflated balloon. There was no option for him to back away, and yet he had to break the news to Tony. The sooner the better.

“You’re leaving me?!”

The outraged, hurt scream made everyone stop. Steve shushed Tony, and looked around in panic, as everyone, literally everyone, staff, customers, even cats, turned accusing looks at Steve. He could swear he was hearing Rhodey running across the street, just to kick his ass, and he expected an attack from air from an enraged Figaro any second.

“Shhh, Tony,” Steve whispered, taking Tony by the arm, and stepping into the bar area, guiding scoffing Tony into the cats room for some privacy. He curled under Bruce’s judging look, and even if the guy was shorter and less built, man, he could look intimidating when he wanted to. He slipped in with Tony and closed the door, preparing for drama, which he knew his boyfriend loved so much to cause. Maybe it was his Italian blood or something. “Tony, I am not leaving you. I just promised to be a guardian for a school trip,” he explained himself, sounding sorry. He agreed to do that months before he even knew about Tony’s existence.

“Yeah, I know that,” Tony replied lightly, his face smooth and a small smile hiding in the corner of his mouth, as he petted sleeping Ramses, who decided to hide from everyone and stretch on the couch.

Steve frowned. “Then why did you cause a scene back there?!” he asked, pointing to the back at the door.

Tony laughed, and walked to his boyfriend, smiling beautifully. He stood on his toes, and wrapped hands around Steve’s neck. “Just to make them a bit angry with you. They like you way too much,” he answered playfully.

Steve huffed and squeezed Tony’s sides as an answer, making him let go of him and double over with a short laugh. “Ass,” Steve scolded, smiling on his own, not able to stay mad long.

Tony batted his long eyelashes innocently. “Where are you going?”

“To Italy,” Steve sighed. He remembered once being really excited for this trip, but now, leaving Tony behind was just painful, seeing how well everything was going. “I will be gone for a month.”

“A MONTH?!” Tony shouted, this team in real shock, making Ramses sprang his head up and look in outrage at the humans disturbing his nap time. Tony looked at the black cat, and soothed him with a hand gesture and soft cooing, promising to not yell anymore. Ramses seemed to believe that, and lowered his head, resuming his nap. “A month?” Tony repeated, this time quieter and much more heartbroken.

Steve looked heartbroken too. “I am sorry, I totally forgot,” he said, stepping closer and closing the distance between them. “I’m leaving next week.”

“NEX–” Tony went to shout again, but reminded himself of Ramses napping just in time, and lowered his voice. “Next week?! Great, couldn’t you tell me last minute because now I will have my whole week screwed!” he complained.

“Or,” Steve smiled lightly, taking Tony’s hand and brushing his knuckles. “Or you could go and bat your eyelashes at Pepper and ask for free days till end of this week, so we could spend it together.”

Tony narrowed his eyes playfully, thinking that Steve’s idea wasn’t so bad. “You’re so sneaky,” he teased, allowing Steve to bring his hand to his mouth and kiss the top of Tony’s hand. “I will talk with her. And today evening, we will start to have our fun.”

“Oh no, not today,” Steve said, lowering his boyfriend’s hand. “Evening I am hanging out with Bucky.”

Tony blinked in shock, not saying a word.

Steve smiled sheepishly. “Tonight is the game. I told you about it, remember?”

“Yeah, but it was before you decided to ditch me for half of your summer!” Tony accused and Steve quieted him down with more kisses down his hand, kissing his palm and wrist. “Stop it,” Tony said weakly, not wanting to give up into the affection and took a step back.

Steve smiled against Tony’s skin, feeling that he was winning this round. He held Tony’s hand and walked back to him, kissing up his forearm and arm, until he got to the shoulder.

“You make it really hard to stay mad at you,” Tony complained, zipping his mouth, trying to ignore the light, ticklish kisses on his neck. Then his jawline. Cheek. Corner of his mouth.

“I will call you every day,” Steve promised, gently kissing Tony’s tight lips.

“You better…” Tony mumbled, finally giving up into the affection and allowing the kiss became much hotter and deeper.

***

“Thank you,” Steve smiled, taking the pizza box from the delivery boy and handing him some money. “Keep the change,” he said, closing the door and heading back into the living room. “Buck, pizza is here!” he called, hearing his friend rummaging in the kitchen.

“Coming!”

A squeaky sound of closing the fridge later, Bucky walked in, holding a six pack of beer. They had pizza, beer, and chips for later, and were ready for a whole evening of watching sports.

“Yankees vs Dodgers!” Bucky bellowed in excitement, putting the beer on the table and jumping on the couch, holding one of the bottles as a microphone and putting it to his mouth. “It’s gonna be a tough night for Dodgers, Mr. Rogers, your thoughts on the score?” he asked, mimicking the tone sport presenters used.

“Well, Mr. Barnes,” Steve quickly answered, taking a bottle beer on his own and using as a fake microphone, “it is not gonna be easy, but I have faith in our team, and I deep in my heart I know, that DODGERS WILL KICK YANKEES ASSES!” he bellowed and Bucky cheered for him, opening their beers and flipping open the pizza box, ready to scream, curse and watch their team win.

Or maybe not.

“No, no, noooo!!” Steve called at the TV, watching the score change for Yankees favor. “Nooo! What’s the matter with you?!” he yelled, sinking into the couch and kicking the coffee table, making the beer bottles rattle.

“That’s pathetic…” Bucky judged the players, “I saw a New York grandma moving faster than you guys!”

“What?” Steve snorted in amusement.

“It was a sale in Walmart. The old lady ran right past me, whacking me with her purse in the process,” Bucky answered. “Oatmeal sale does that to people. She made me drop my plums,” he continued, looking heartbroken, as he remembered his favorite fruits spilling all over the floor.

Steve leaned into the couch, giggling like crazy, imagining the scene. Bucky whacked him on the arm, telling him to shut up that way.

“AND IT’S A HOME RUN!!” the TV shouted and Bucky and Steve stood up, bellowing in victory.

“FINALLY!!”

“Keep it up, boys!!” Steve added, sitting down, “just two more and we will even the score!”

“Yeah, funny you mentioned that,” Bucky said, reaching for a slice of pizza, “did you finally score with your boy?”

“Mghhg!” Steve made a sound as he choked on his beer, the liquid nearly spilling from his mouth.

“Woah, calm down!” Bucky laughed, patting his friend’s back lightly.

“I’m okay,” Steve wiped mouth with his sleeve, looking at Bucky with wide eyes, “why - why do you even ask that?”

“Well,” Bucky said, leaning into the couch and savoring the moment, “I know you didn’t score in a looong time. Do you still remember how to use it?” he asked in a mischievous tone.

Steve snorted and rolled his eyes. “Shut up, punk. Mind your own dick,” he took a sip of his beer.

“My dick is doing great, I am more worried about your dick. You and that Tony guy are dating for what, a month?”

“One and a half month,” Steve smiled. It was a really good one and a half month.

“Sounds serious,” Bucky said, the whole teasing disappearing from his voice.

“Yeah,” Steve’s smile changed into a bashful one. He looked at his beer bottle, picking on the label. “Tony is great. I really like him.”

Bucky moved closer to Steve. He put his hand on blond’s arm. “I am happy for you, buddy. I really am,” he smiled honestly. He remembered the heartbreak Steve’s last girlfriend caused, Shanon, or something, and how miserable Steve was, vowing to never get into a relationship ever again. With Tony around, Steve was blooming and Bucky didn’t see him that happy in a while.

“Thanks,” Steve replied in all honesty, grateful that at least for once, Bucky didn’t bring up the topic that he was the one who introduced them to each other.

“How are you getting along with his cat?” Bucky asked, moving back to his seat.

Steve laughed. “Good. He is really sweet.”

“What’s his name again?”

“Figaro.”

“Figaro? Like in Minnie Mouse’s cat?”

Steve frowned in thought. “I don’t know. I never asked. I thought he took it from Pinocchio.”

“Or stole it from Minnie Mouse,” Bucky smirked, finding it hilarious.

“I will ask him next time I see him, just for you,” Steve promised.

“Yay,” Bucky mocked, making a face at this best friend. “For how long he has the cat?”

“I think two years,” Steve said, remembering that Tony told him once that Fig was nearly two years old, and seeing that Tony had him since Fig was six months old, it was easy math. “Tony said he found him on the street.”

“On the street?” Bucky asked, biting into the slice of the cheesy pizza.

“Yeah,” Steve confirmed, focusing his attention back on the TV, “he was going home, when heard a car slowing down with a screech and saw Fig going straight under the wheels. He ran there and saw that he was breathing and took him to the vet. And that car didn’t even stop. Can you imagine that?” Steve told the story, just now realizing that Bucky went unnaturally silent. “Buck?” he asked, looking at his friend and blinking, when he saw that Bucky froze, the pizza crust he was previously holding in his hand, laying on his shirt now. “Buck?! What’s wrong?” Steve turned to look better at him.

Bucky, pale and distressed, looked back at Steve. “When did that happen?” he asked, almost in a whisper.

“Around a year and a half,” Steve answered, watching Bucky wheeze and sit on the edge of the couch, wrapping hands in his hair. “Buck?! What’s wrong?!”

Bucky didn’t answer for a while, tugging at his shoulder length hair. Steve urged him many times to get a haircut, claiming that he looked like a homeless person, but Bucky liked his vintage look, and, truthfully, rocked it, making all girls, and not only girls, swoon.

Finally, Bucky lowered his hands, staring at the space in front of him, looking like if something heavy was smothering him. “I think I know who had hit Fig,” he said in a pained voice.

Steve swallowed. He didn’t like this. At all. “You do?” he asked, praying that the answer won’t be what he thought it might be.

“Yeah,” Bucky closed his eyes, grimace showing on his face. He remembered that moment. The moment he had hit the breaks, but it was too late.

“Bucky…” Steve whispered, sounding terrified. It couldn’t be true.

“I didn’t do that on purpose! I was in a hurry and then – suddenly this kitten appeared from nowhere!”

Steve’s mind turned blank. How come that five minutes ago he was so happy and now felt like falling into a bottomless pit? “You didn’t stop,” Steve said, didn’t accuse, just said it in the most neutral tone, stating a fact.

“I did stop!” Bucky snapped. He made a mistake, but he wasn’t heartless. “I stopped around the corner, and ran back right there, but there was already this guy, standing over the cat… I thought it was dead, but then he got into a cab, holding this bundle in his hands–”

“You saw it? You saw it and didn’t come to make sure what was with the cat?!”

“What I was supposed to say, Steve?! ’Hey, I am the one who hit this cat, do you think he will be okay?’?! I panicked!”

“God, Bucky…” Steve curled, hiding face in his hands. He didn’t know what to do.

“Steve…” Bucky whispered in the sorriest tone he had ever heard before on his friend. “Will you tell Tony about this?”

Steve’s mind flashed back to the morning, he took Figaro on a walk without Tony’s knowledge. He saw Tony holding Figaro protectively, and then holding back tears as he spoke of the moment he had picked the shocked kitten from the street and went to the vet, all the way hoping that the little guy would make it.

“Steve, will you tell him?”

The Dodgers won, but Steve felt like if he lost everything.

***

Luckily for Steve, Tony didn’t get any free days. There was too much work in the cafe, and Tony wanted to leave in a too short notice, and there was no way they could get substitution on time. Tony pouted, but understood, and Steve pouted with him, even if he was secretly relieved, not coming up with a plan yet.

He and Bucky talked later that night, and Steve knew his best friend, Bucky wouldn’t hurt any living creature on purpose. Steve believed him, knowing that he was genuinely sorry. And he did stop to check on the kitten’s health, Tony just didn’t know that.

But should Tony know this?

Steve spent many hours thinking about it. He always came to the same conclusion, that Bucky was his best friend, but Tony was his boyfriend, and he shouldn’t have secrets from him, especially not such big ones.

The day of his leaving for Italy was getting closer and closer, and Steve was running out of time. Each time he met with Tony, he had tried to tell him. He thought about it during each kiss. Each time, Tony had smiled at him, as Figaro climbed into Steve’s lap, feeling comfortable and safe, and Tony was leaning on Steve’s shoulder, wanting a piece of Steve to himself. Those were good moments.

And he could lose it all.

He didn’t want to lose it.

Oh God, he didn’t want to lose Tony.

The last evening they had spent together, Steve was set on a belief that telling Tony the truth about Figaro’s accident was the only right way. He would do it. But the second, Tony opened the door and smiled, Steve felt weak. He didn’t say a word and spent a lovely evening with Tony, who made sure to give Steve plenty of reasons to remember him during the upcoming month on a different continent and not give him any reasons to be tempted to try some Italian sausages. If you know what he meant.

Steve was finishing packing, having twenty minutes before a cab would come for him to take him to the airport. He made sure three times that everything was turned off and that the taps were not dripping, and that everything was perfectly fine, and took his bag, heading out.

Ultimately, he decided not to tell Tony. At least not now, with him being away, and having to leave Tony all alone to process the information. Such news shouldn’t be delivered in times, when there was no one to provide comfort. And Steve would have a whole month to think how to tell him everything in the most gentle way. Maybe he could bring Bucky with him, so Bucky could say his side of the story. Steve was just hoping, then when the confrontation would happen, Tony won’t force him to choose between him and Bucky. That was the worst scenario he could think of.

“Hey, Steve! Steve!”

Steve blinked quickly, getting out of his thoughts, hearing the repeating calling. He was standing outside his building, and saw Tony, standing on the other side of the road and waving like crazy, waiting for the traffic lights to change. When it changed, he walked quickly to Steve, as fast as he could without dragging Figaro who was on the leash.

Steve smiled bright and ran closer, waiting for Tony to cross the street. “Hey! What are you two doing here?” he asked with a bright smile, knowing that Tony should be at work at this hour.

“We came to say goodbye,” Tony smiled, standing on his toes and pecking Steve’s lips. Figaro sat next to them, after doing an obligatory zigzag pattern around Steve’s legs, saying hello in his own way.

“I thought we said goodbye yesterday,” he smiled, holding Tony by the hips and pressing him close.

“Never enough of goodbye kisses,” Tony teased, his smile suddenly faltering. “Actually, I wanted to tell you something…”

Oh no…

The coldest shiver ran up Steve’s neck. Did Tony know?

“Me and Fig talked today.. And I didn’t want you to leave, without me telling you this…”

Oh, God, Tony knew. Tony knew and came here to break up with him.

“Steve,” Tony said in all seriousness, cupping Steve’s cheeks, mindful of the leash in his right hand. “Steve, I wanted to tell you yesterday, but I… I don’t know, I bailed out, but I want you to know–”

Please, just rip his heart out already.

“– that I love you.”

What?

Steve took a shallow, shaky breath, looking back at Tony with wide eyes. Tony’s eyes were warm and he was smiling insecurely, as if overwhelmed by his own words. But he needed Steve to know this.

“Oh, Tony…” Steve whispered, his heart swelling with happiness. “I love you too,” he replied, knowing that for some time, but saying it for the first time ever.

Tony smiled, smiled so bright that the sun above them seemed dull, and buried himself against Steve, hugging him close. Steve wrapped arms around Tony, trying to remember this feeling for long, lonely nights in Italy.

Or the long lonely nights after coming back from Italy…

A taxi stopped by them, waiting for the passenger.

“That’s my cab,” Steve said in a weak voice, not wanting this moment to end. Not wanting to let go of Tony.

Tony understood, and gently moved himself away from Steve. Opposite to Steve, he kept smiling, Steve’s love confession being everything he ever wanted. “Okay. Be safe and have fun. Just not too much fun,” he added quickly.

“I will be thinking about you,” Steve promised, locking their lips in a last, long kiss. A kiss that would have to last him for the upcoming month. “Please say it again,” Steve asked softly against Tony’s delicate lips, contrasting with the slightly burning feeling his goatee left behind.

Tony smiled gently. “I love you,” he whispered, barely audible.

“I love you too,” Steve said truthfully, caressing Tony’s face and stepping away to grab his bag. “I will miss you. Be good while I am gone! Both of you!” he laughed, kneeling down to scrub Fig gently behind the ear. “Take care of Tony, ok?”

Figaro half closed his eyes, and Steve could swear that he nodded, agreeing.

“Do you need a lift?” Steve asked, opening the door, not even thinking if the taxi driver would be okay with taking a pet.

“No, we are good,” Tony smiled, being more practical than Steve was. “Call me when you get at the hotel!”

“I will,” Steve promised, sitting inside the car and closing the door. “Bye,” he said softly, pressing his hand to the window.

“Bye,” Tony mouthed, waving and standing there, until the cab mingled into New York’s traffic and disappeared among other cars.

When Tony turned on his heel, planning to go back to work, he didn’t care, that his spontaneous break just earned him two weeks of cleaning cat litter. Steve loved him. It was all that mattered. He skipped lightly back to the cafe, feeling like singing.

In the cab, Steve pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling as if falling and falling and falling.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is back and there are many changes going around him, but luckily one thing didn’t change. Yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy the happy moments! ... for now...

Steve sat at the small desk in the hotel room, and opened his laptop, clicking on the skype icon. It was hot in Italy, and he had earlier opened a window, bringing in some gentle gust of fresh air. Minutes went by and his fingers started to tap a little on the laptop case. It was 10 pm here, which meant that it was 4 pm back home. It was hard to stay in touch while he and Tony had different schedules and a six hours time difference between them, and instead of promised everyday calls, they limited to a lot of texting and one video call per week. Steve waited and waited, until the clock turned to 10:02 pm, and Tony was two minutes late, which wouldn’t be a big deal, but Steve missed him so so much, and he knew that Tony’s break would last for only 30 minutes. He jumped a little when his laptop started ringing and a smile immediately appeared on his face. Excitement rushing through him, he pressed the green headphone, seeing first a blur, before the image sharpened and he saw his boyfriend’s handsome and grinning face, while Tony was inside the cats’ room, back in Meow Cafe.

“Hi, babe!” Steve called with affection, waiting the whole week for this moment.

“Hi!” Tony called back, smiling beautifully, the smile disappearing to be replaced with a frown. “Huh, Steve, did you forget to turn your camera on again?”

“No,” Steve replied happily. “I won’t turn it on until you do it.”

Tony grunted, covering eyes with his hand. “You’re a jerk.”

“Come on, just once,” Steve pleaded. Of course, he knew that Tony wouldn’t hang up on him, but some whining wouldn’t hurt.

“Just once?” Tony gritted back in question.

“Yes!”

“And last time!” Tony pointed at the screen, pursing his lips in determination.

“Promise!” Steve promised, raising his hand and crossing fingers. Thank you, turned off camera.

“Okay…” Tony sighed, tilting to the side, making sure that the door was properly locked. He looked back into the camera and pressed his lips together and pushed them out, making them resemble a duck beak. “Quack, quack!”

Steve laughed, adoring that expression and needing it as a screensaver. He would snap a photo of Tony like that once he gets back home. He clicked the camera on, letting Tony see him.

Tony’s mouth fell open when he saw Steve’s still crossed fingers. “Liar!” he hissed and laughed when the blond eeped and uncrossed his fingers.

Steve scooted a bit closer to the laptop, looking lovingly at the screen. He was half way through his vacation, and he was missing Tony more and more each day. “Hi,” he said softly, just because they could greet each other properly with his camera turned on and because he was a dork like that.

“Hi,” Tony replied, equally soft, his eyes shining with love. “How’s Italy?”

“Good!” Steve smiled, “Landmarks are great. Art is amazing. Just, surprisingly, I think that we make better pizza in New York.”

Tony laughed, and Steve could swear that it was the most amazing sound in the world. “You speak like a true New Yorker,” he grinned, grin full of teeth and sass.

Steve smiled back. “And how are things with you?”

“Also good,” Tony mirrored, but Steve didn’t miss a little sigh he made in the process. “Just you know, a lot of work… Oh, and we have a new employee!” Tony brightened.

“Ah,” Steve nodded, “are they fitting in?”

“Yeah, she is really nice. Like, too nice,” Tony played with his fingers, and Steve slightly frowned. “Her name is Janet. She is like this little bee, all over the place. She even dresses in black and yellow, and resembles a bee. But customers and cats love her.”

“Oh,” Steve forced a smile, not helping but to feel a sting. Stung by a bee apparently. “Is she pretty?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Tony squinted his eyes, sending his boyfriend a suspicious look, before a sly grin made its way on his face. “Are you jealous?” he asked in a smug voice.

Steve blinked, his face blank. “So, how is Fig?”

Tony laughed at the tactical change of subject. “Fluffy as always! In fact, he is on my lap now.”

“Hey, show him!” Steve urged, motioning with his hand to lift Figaro up. Steve missed them both.

“Okay,” Tony shuffled around, grunting a bit, when he had to properly grab his meatloaf of a cat. “Hey, Figgy, look, it is Steve!” for a moment, the camera was blocked with a blur of black fur, before it focused and Steve saw a sweet face and almond shaped eyes looking at him.

“Hi Fi–” he couldn’t even finish, as the cat wriggled away, jumping off Tony’s shoulder, making him hiss, when the little sharp claws dug into his skin. “Wha– where did he go?” Steve asked, glancing further into the monitor, as if hoping that he would be able to see more of the room.

Tony tsked, massaging his shoulder. “He hid under the couch,” he said, looking after his cat.

“What? Why?”

“I guess he is mad at you for leaving us,” Tony sighed, looking back into the camera.

Ouch, that was cold. “Did you tell him that I will be back soon?” he asked in all seriousness, not even wincing at the fact that the sentence came naturally to him. If two months back, someone would tell him that he would be concerned about hurting some cats feelings, he would tap on their forehead in a mock.

“Of course, I did. Don’t worry, he will be better once you’re actually here,” Tony assured with a soft smile.

“Guess you’re right…” Steve admitted, frowning when he saw that his boyfriend grimaced, like if he sat on a pin. “What?”

“You remember your running shoes you left at my place?” he asked, rubbing his knuckles together.

“Yeaaah?” came an answer, and Steve had a feeling he won’t like the direction where this conversation was going.

“Is there a chance you can buy yourself some good bargain new shoes in Italy?”

“Why. What happened with my shoes?” he asked, before it dawned on him. “Fiiiggg…” he drawled the cat’s name. “What did he do? Did he turn them into confetti?” he asked, clearly imagining the little tiger taking out his all frustration on the only item Steve had left behind.

“That wouldn’t be so bad actually…” Tony answered, looking away. “Let’s just say, that your boots aren’t waterproof anymore.”

Oh. Ew. Well, that was 150 dollars Steve could kiss goodbye. “Hope you threw them away,” Steve said in all seriousness.

“Why would I keep them?” Tony answered, disgust showing on his face, when he thought about keeping shoes his cat had peed into.

“Do you still have Figaro’s claw in that matchbox?” Steve asked back on a condescending note.

“It was his first claw!” Tony replied in a tone, that should justify everything.

Steve only laughed. Of course, mothers kept their baby’s first teeth, Tony kept his cat’s first claws. It was all normal. “Hey, who is that?” Steve asked, seeing in the distance on the window sill some black cat with a white spot under its nose, covering its whole mouth. He noticed the cat earlier, but connected it with Ramses who was also black, and used to hang out a lot in the cat room, resting.

Tony turned to the back. “Oh, that’s Gizmo!” he smiled, calling the cat closer. “Gizmo! Here, kitty kitty!”

“Gizmo?” Steve repeated, watching Tony lean down and pick the up the cat that walked to him.

“Yeah, isn’t he cute?” Tony cooed, holding the cat in his arms. The cat had yellow, round eyes, and white socks on his paws and a white stripe going down his belly, matching the white spot on his face. He looked at Steve with round, curious eyes. Steve could tell that it was a young cat, he had smooth, short fur with a nice shine.

“Yeah, he is cute,” Steve said truthfully, before turning back to Tony. “How did he get here?”

“We have new cats in the cafe,” Tony replied with a smile, running a hand down Gizmo’s back, making the cat close his eyes in content. “Sorry, I guess I should had started with it. You remember that girl that adopted Cow?” Tony asked, and Steve nodded. “She brought her friend in, and she just fell in love with Ariel. I guess she has a thing for big cats, because she tried to sneak out Figaro too, but I managed to stop her,” Tony laughed at the memory, and Steve forced a laugh out to match Tony’s, “anyway, she adopted Ariel. And later this week Crazeh and Little Eye were adopted–”

“Oh,” Steve gasped a little, listening to the story how actually half of the cats he knew got adopted in practically one week. It was great news and he was happy, but in the same time, he felt a little heartbroken that he wasn’t there. He especially regretted not saying goodbye to Little Eye. That cat was the most friendly cat he had ever met. “That’s great news, babe,” Steve smiled, when Tony ended his story, meaning every word. “I am so sorry, I wasn’t there with you,” he added, also meaning it, knowing how devastated Tony could get after saying goodbye to his pets.

“It was fine, Ty was with me,” Tony kept smiling, more focusing on Gizmo than Steve, which was a relief, because if he would look at Steve, there was no way he would miss the violent twitch that ran through blond’s body.

“Ty?” Steve asked, trying to keep his voice calm. “Is… Is this Janet’s nickname?” he asked, hoping that it would be true, no matter how ridiculous it sounded, even in his head.

Tony snorted, looking back at his boyfriend, when Gizmo had enough of affection and jumped down Tony’s lap. “No. You remember Ty, he is that guy who didn’t tip me.”

Steve tensed horribly. Yeah, he remembered him. Big, buffed and grim, and seemingly hating cats. What was he even doing back in the cafe? “Oh?” Steve asked with a pained smile, trying to push it as genuine, waiting for Tony to develop the story.

“Yeah, he came two days after you left,” figures, “and brought Gizmo in. Usually, we don’t take in stray cats, but Ty looked so confused and worried, so we had Gizmo checked and now he stays with us. Ty visits him every day.”

Steve’s smile became even more forced. Of course, Ty was visiting Gizmo every day. Before Steve could ask more questions, Tony disappeared from the screen for a bit.

“Yeah, I am coming!” and Tony was back. “Sorry, baby, my break is over, gotta run. I will text you later. I love you!” Tony smiled, and made a move to disconnect, just giving Steve a second to say his goodbye.

Swallowing down questions, Steve choked out “I love you too!” and stayed in front of his laptop for a minute longer after the screen turned black. He looked at the window, listening to the night music of Italy, and letting the wind cool him down. It was okay, right? Tony was allowed to make friends. It wasn’t like that guy just waited for Steve to get out of the picture and swoop in and take Tony away from him, right? Steve found himself absentmindedly stroking the air above his lap, until he realized that there was no cat in his lap to pet and calm him down. With a pathetic whine, Steve curled, putting his head against the wood of the desk, and lightly banging his forehead.

Thud, thud, thud.

Knock, knock, knock.

Steve straightened, looking at the door, confused by the double sound. After a moment, the door opened, and Natasha, his co-guardian of the trip walked in. They worked together at the same college, Natasha thought English literature, although Steve liked to joke that she was more suited for military school and ordering around guys twice her size.

“Hey,” she said, letting herself in, “how was your chat?” she teased, knowing about Steve’s small ritual. Her expression changed, when she saw how miserable his face was. “What?” she asked, sitting on Steve’s bed. “Boyfriend trouble?”

Steve laughed bitterly to himself. “Kinda,” he agreed. Everything was piling up. He promised himself that he would come clean to Tony regarding Fig’s accident, after coming back home, but with this whole Ty situation, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Natasha nodded. She had always been a great bro to Steve. “Hey, you know what would keep your mind off of it?” she asked, smiling dangerously.

“What?” Steve asked, a little bit uncertain of the answer. Once, he saw Natasha chug a bottle of vodka down in a bar, cheered on by an amused drunk crowd, and not even blinking once. He hoped it wasn’t her solution.

“Nightseeing of Rome,” she offered with a gentler smile. “I bet it is beautiful at nighttime.”

Steve looked down. It was a tempting offer. Maybe he could do some sketches, or they could find some small cafeteria. He could use some gelato. A lot of it actually.

“Come on. Don’t make me ask you twice,” Natasha urged with a knowing smile.

“Shouldn’t we stay in a watch the students?” Steve asked, practical as always.

“They will be fine,” Natasha waved her hand, and in the same time, they heard a loud bang of the door, followed by a lot of giggling and fumbling in the corridor.

“They will?” Steve asked in irony.

Natasha huffed air out. “It’s just Kamala, Donnie and Peter goofing around,” she said, walking to the door, and opening it, sticking her head out. “HEY! Pipe it down, pipsqueaks!” she yelled in a sharp tone.

A squeak, more giggling and a ’yes, ma'am!’ followed by door closing, and seemingly at least five minutes of peace.

Natasha got back into the room. “That will keep them quiet for a bit. So, shall we?” she gestured at the door.

Steve darted his eyes to the side. He wasn’t so sure about this idea.

“Steve, come on. It is Friday night. We deserve some fun after a week of babysitting.”

Steve seemed to be slowly convinced. “Okay, let’s do it,” he decided standing up and grabbing his jacket.

“Great!” Natasha smiled, walking out the door.

Sending the last look at his laptop, Steve walked out after her.

Just two weeks more until he can see Tony again.

***

With a heavy heart, Steve had to admit it. He was becoming a horrible person. He always thought that honesty was the best policy, yet, he kept a secret from Tony, a huge, huge secret that could change everything. And now he had just added to the pile of his lies.

He told Tony, that he would be back on Monday. In reality, he was back on Friday.

To be honest, it wasn’t the worse thing he lied about. They got back early morning, and Steve used this time to partially refresh his apartment, finding scrunched empty bags of chips and couple of beers in his fridge. Seemed that Bucky made his home a party house for the time when he was gone. At least he remembered to water the plants, just like he asked him to. Steve didn’t ask Tony, knowing that he would forget anyway, and that would just create unnecessary tension, adding to the tension that was already hovering over Steve’s head like a dark cloud.

He picked up his phone and dialed Bucky’s number, to thank him and tell him to stay the hell away from his house. For a while.

After few signals, Bucky picked up.

“Buenosera!” Bucky bellowed instead of hello, and Steve grinned, not having the heart to correct him that in Italy, it was 3 am. “How things are going in the city of spaghetti and pizza?”

“Pretty good!” Steve answered enthusiastically, “just I am home. Came back early.”

A stretch of silence.

Bucky chuckled nervously. “Did by any chance you already walked in your apartment?” he asked, voice gaining some uncomfortable pitch, while he remembered Steve and his pedantic ways.

“Yes,” Steve stressed, not adding anything more, because secretly he was a troll, like Bucky liked to call him affectionately, and relished in the growing discomfort of his friend.

Bucky quickly crumbled. “Please don’t make me peel potatoes. I promise to swing by evening and clean everything, I planned to clean it, but then you had to show up earlier and ruin everything, in fact, I had this big surprise party planned for you —”

Steve cracked and started to laugh, ending the panicked rant. “Buck, it is okay. At least you kept my plants alive,” he smiled, looking at the window sill, seeing that his orchid even started to bloom.

“I did, didn’t I,” Bucky replied proudly.

“You should become a florist.”

“Shut up.”

Steve laughed again. “Actually, I am calling to tell you, that I will spend the weekend with Tony.”

There was no answer, only Bucky mimicked the squeaky sound of springs bouncing.

“Bucky!” Steve scolded, unwillingly turning a light shade of red.

“What? Knowing you and your sanctimonious way, you didn’t even buff the banana once during last month.”

Steve blinked at the window in confusion. “Where do you even get such words from?” he asked in disgust.

“I am very creative,” another proud sentence, which in Steve’s opinion, shouldn’t make Bucky proud. “But anyway… you’re going to tell him?”

Steve didn’t answer, walking to his orchid and looking at the flower. It just started blooming, just like his and Tony’s relationship. Orchids were delicate plants, needed water, sunlight and love. He hoped it wouldn’t wilt after the weekend.

“I want to.”

***

Steve took his morning to clean, restock the fridge and generally freshen up the apartment after Cyclone Bucky went through it. He took an afternoon nap, knowing that Tony wouldn’t end his shift till 8 pm, and that at 4 pm, he would hide in the cats’ room, expecting a video call from Steve. Steve left his apartment an hour earlier, to not have to rush to the cafe. He was nervous with seeing Tony. On the one hand, he wanted to kiss him all over, on the other, he knew he would crush him. He just hoped he would be allowed to be there and pick up the pieces.

The closer Steve was getting to the cafe, the more he was forgetting about his plan, already tasting Tony’s coffee flavored lips and skin. He didn’t want to admit, but it was the reason why in Italy, every day for breakfast he had drunk an espresso. It was strong and bitter, but got subtle with time and the taste lingered in his mouth, reminding him of home.

Straight ahead, Steve noticed changes in the cafe. There was a new board of specials outside, written in a curly print, probably belonging to Janet, as Steve didn’t see it before, and usually the specials were written with Pepper’s delicate print, or Tony’s clunky writing, which was bad, but somehow legible, unlike Bruce’s print, who wrote like a doctor and no one could ever figure out if it was an a or e or x. The second change, was the cat on the broad window sill, sleeping in the spot of sunlight. It was white and orange and big and looked very happy, and it was the first time, Steve saw it. He quietly and slowly opened the door, breathing in the scent of coffee and cookies, not letting the little bell alarm anyone and give away his presence. He looked around the place, already missing Little Eye trotting to him for hello nuzzles. His covert plan was working, and he remained unnoticed, while Pepper and Tony were behind the bar, Tony gesticulating vividly, and Pepper looking tiredly at her employee. Steve’s heart skipped a beat.

“Please, please, pleeeaaaseee?” Tony repeated time after time, simultaneously placing the fresh cookies into the display case.

Pepper send him a patient, but slightly irritated look. “Tony, if you want a free week, you should have told me earlier, not two days before!”

Tony scoffed in outrage. “And let you think about it and say no? Taking you by surprise is much more efficient!”

“Tony,” she warned, not approving of this method.

Tony put away the empty tray and clasped hands in front of himself in a pleading gesture. “Pleeeaaaaaseeeee?” he asked again, even curling a bit to make himself look small and adorable. Well, smaller and adorable. “I haven’t seen him for a month! A month, Pep!”

“Tony –”

“Jan will cover for me! I already settled it with her!”

“What?” Pepper stared. “Tony, you can’t just rearrange the schedule as you want–”

“Please, I will even clean the cappuccino machine!”

“You don’t clean the cappuccino machine?!”

Tony froze. Uh oh. “Of course, I clean it!” he rambled, “I meant I will cleeeaaaan it,” he emphasized. Steve couldn’t last anymore at the show, and snorted in laughter, covering his mouth immediately.

That blew his cover and two pairs of eyes turned to him. Tony blinked owlishly, and Pepper looked from smiling at her Steve to stunned Tony, seeing that she totally lost the brunet in the sight of his long not seen boyfriend.

“I will see what I can do about your week off,” she promised in a tone indicating that it likely wouldn’t happen and put a hand on Tony’s shoulder, grounding him back into reality, “you can take a free afternoon,” she added in consolation, knowing that it was the only reasonable thing to do, as Tony would probably spill hot water on himself from being distracted, or even worse, on the customers, or the worst case, on one of the cats.

Tony squealed with joy. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” he threw himself at Pepper, hugging to her, and Steve watched the scene with a smile, feeling that Pepper stole his hug, but it didn’t make him sore in any way.

“You’re welcome,” Pepper patted Tony’s back, and Tony let go of her, rushing to the front of the bar, and opening it to get to Steve.

“Hi!” he called, a huge smile on his face, as he ran in Steve’s direction.

Steve smiled back. “Hi! Oof!” he grunted, when he was treated less gently than Pepper, and Tony jumped on him, legs wrapping around his waist and arms around his neck and automatically Steve’s hands clasped under Tony’s butt to hold him in place. Coffee flavored kisses. Espresso had nothing on them.

“I missed you so much,” Tony whispered against Steve’s lips, softly enough for only the blond to hear, so happy with him being back.

“I missed you too,” Steve whispered back, kissing Tony’s smooth cheek again and again.

“Guys, you’re scarring the cats!”

“Cats! You have to meet them!” and that was what made Tony uncoil from Steve. As he was being dragged around the coffee house, Steve saw Bruce behind the counter who was the one who yelled the comment out, and Steve greeted him with a smile and wave of a hand, getting the same gesture in return.

“Fig!” Tony called, standing under the cat shelves his cat liked to take over. “Fig! Look who came back!”

Steve saw a big furry creature move around, green eyes piercing through him. Figaro’s tail twitched slightly, before he turned away again, curling his head between his paws, back to the previous position.

“Fig!” Tony urged in disbelief. “Fig! Figaro!” he called time after time, also being ignored.

Steve laughed weakly. Seemed that Figaro was still mad at him.

“He will come around soon,” Tony cheered him softly, giving Steve’s hand a loving squeeze. “Come on, I will introduce you to the rest.”

Before the introduction could start, Steve said hello to the cats he already knew. Blondie, as always, ignored him in her elegant way and Ramses meowed loudly at him, leaning his head down for patting. Steve hoped that they soon would find their home. Then the introduction started, and the first cat Steve met was the orange and white cat on the window sill, called Olivier, aka Speedbump, because if once he settled somewhere, he was not the one to move away. Steve patted the cat, getting soft purring and contently closed eyes in return, before the cat fell back right to sleep, making Steve smile. He would be a perfect companion for some elderly person. The next one was Tsuki, an unusually fluffy siamese cat, who liked to keep her distance and observe everyone. Then Shandi, lean and shiny black and beautiful and very friendly.

“And there is Gizmo!” Tony pointed to the cat tree, where a black and white cat settled, observing everyone with his big, round eyes. “Oh, and there is Ty!”

Steve expected a cat. The sound of bell near the door told him otherwise. He looked there and immediately tensed. Ty. A short name for such a huge guy. He was big, muscled, had a perfectly square jaw, dark blond hair and bright blue eyes. Steve felt an icy cold shiver, noticing a pattern.

“Hi Tony,” the guy said, walking closer, totally ignoring Steve, but having enough of sense to not treat Pepper and Bruce the same way and gave them a friendly nod, that to Steve didn’t appear so friendly. He was wearing a white button-up shirt which accented the golden, probably fake, tan, which contrasted with Steve everyday paleness. His shoes were expensive, his watch was expensive, and there was probably an expensive car waiting for him outside. Steve drew Tony minimally closer.

“Hi Ty!” Tony chirped, unaware of the tension. “Came to visit your kitty?”

“As always,” the guy replied smoothly, looking deep into Tony’s eyes, showing perfect teeth in a smile. Steve felt an inch in his right fist.

“Gizmo is over there,” Tony, unnaturally oblivious, or maybe that much in love with Steve that he didn’t notice other guys flirting with him, pointed at the cat tree. “And this is Steve,” Tony introduced.

“Like in your boyfriend?” Ty repeated, turning his blue eyes to Steve, something flickering in them, something he quickly hid away. “Tyberius Stone. Nice to meet you,” he said, extending his hand for a shake.

Steve was not falling for it, and didn’t let go of Tony’s hand. Instead, he offered his left one for a shake, which made the situation a lot more awkward, but manageable. “Steve Rogers,” he replied.

“Hey, I will change and we can go, okay?” Tony turned to Steve and slipped his hand out of the hold.

“Okay,” Steve smiled back, watching Tony go behind the bar and into the personnel room, waving his goodbye to Ty on his way there.

When Tony was gone, Tyberius lowered his hand and looked back at Steve. Steve painfully noticed that the guy was about two inches taller than he was.

“So, how long you and Tony are dating?” he asked, faking being friendly.

“Two months,” Steve replied immediately, keeping his voice strong.

“Huh. Interesting,” the guy answered, eyeing Steve up and down with sort of a mocking smile, which implied that it wouldn’t last another two months. He had the nerve to grin broader and turned away from Steve, heading to Gizmo.

Steve’s whole posture tensed. He didn’t like the guy.

“Are you ready?” he felt a small hand slipping back into his, and saw Tony, apron less and in a fresh shirt.

“Sure,” he smiled, tension leaving him. Screw the guy.

“Let me just take Fig–”

“Actually,” Steve quickly jumped in, “I was hoping we could go back to my place,” Steve said, making his voice a bit louder, so it could travel to Ty.

“Oh,” Tony said, his eyes getting a softer look. He never before was at Steve’s place, usually, they hang out at Tony’s home. “I have to take him anyway. I don’t leave him in the cafe for the night,” Tony explained, again, sleeping away to call Fig down from the cat shelves and get him into the leash. Steve caught Ty looking at them, but turning back to petting the cat, as soon as Steve’s eyes met his.

Tony said his goodbye to Pepper and Bruce, and walked back to Steve, Figaro trotting in front of them. “Bye Ty!” Tony called near the door, and Steve felt a sting, when the guy turned around, sending Tony a smile.

“Bye! See you later, Stan!” he called to Steve.

Oh, good one. Two could play this game. “Later Triton!” Steve called on his way out, deeply enjoying the way Ty stiffened and his face set in brief anger.

***

He won’t tell him. He can’t tell him. He won’t.

“Tony, my building doesn’t allow pets,” came out of his mouth instead and Steve felt awful. Not because of telling Tony that he can’t bring Fig with him.

“Their loss then!” Tony answered lightheartedly, twirling around, letting Figaro chase after some bug. “Don’t worry, we will leave Fig at my place. He can handle being alone for the weekend. I will just ask Rhodey to drop in on Saturday and give him food. Oh,” Tony abruptly stopped, noticing that his shoe got untied. “Here, hold him,” he said, handing Steve the leash, before kneeling down and fixing the knot.

Steve took the leash, totally on reflex, before stiffening horribly, as the gravity of the situation hit him. Tony never let anyone take Fig from him, and Steve remembered the breakdown Tony had, when once he took Figaro on a walk. And here, on the sidewalk, in the middle of busy New York, Tony out of his free will, gave Steve his precious cat. That never happened before, and while Steve knew that his boyfriend meant every ‘I love you’ he said, this gesture spoke so much more.

He felt Figaro brushing at his calves, doing a zigzag pattern. Looking down, he saw Figaro bright green eyes, looking back at him.

Steve smiled. “Did you forgive me?” he asked in a soft voice.

“Depends on what you bought me,” Tony replied instead, straightening up and hooking his arm with Steve’s. He didn’t take the leash away.

Steve grinned bigger. “Figaro forgiveness depends on your present?” he asked, as they resumed walking.

“Partially, yes,” Tony grinned back.

They were getting closer to Tony’s apartment and it was time to say goodbye to the cat.

“Is it really okay?” Steve asked insecurely, not wanting to take Tony and Fig apart. Maybe he could change plans and they would stay at Tony’s place again after all.

“Yeah, it is really okay,” Tony answered with a smile, opening the door. “Just try and not close the bathroom door this time, okay? You stress Fig out,” he added with a teasing smile, walking in, remembering that one incident when Steve closed the bathroom door and Figaro woke them up in the middle of the night with the most pathetic crying.

Steve laughed in embarrassment and nodded, following.

They had a simple plan. Fill Figaro’s bowls, leave the bathroom door open, and go to Steve’s apartment.

Oh, and tell Tony the truth about Figaro’s accident. Not so simple. But they would get there.

Probably.

Right now, they should just enjoy being reunited again, right?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve continue to be happily reunited and so much in love, until everything goes into the gutter when secrets are reveled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops, sorry all, I was sick in the last days and then work gained on me and I totally forgot to update! this is the chapter when the REAL fun starts *steeples fingers*

Tony whistled, taking a solitary tour of Steve’s apartment. It was an old building, with an old staircase, but Steve’s home was new and bright. It was a lot more spacious than Tony had ever imagined, and was a lot tidier than his living space was. Tony sat on the cat’s furless couch and bounced a bit, catching the new TV set with his eye. Not as new as his was, that is, but surprisingly new for a guy like Steve.

“Your apartment is big!” Tony stated the obvious, yelling in the direction of kitchen area so the other man could hear him.

“You sound surprised,” Steve answered back, walking out of the kitchen and handing the brunet a second glass of ice tea. He had no proper coffee machine, so he wouldn’t risk offering his boyfriend a cup.

“Slightly,” Tony grinned, seeping his beverage. Refreshing and sweet. Like Steve. “You could fit like three cats in here!”

Steve sat next to the Tony, looking amused. “Do you always measure everything in cats?” he asked with a friendly tease.

Tony only smiled mysteriously, again looking around, spotting shelves with books, some photos, because Steve was a sap like that apparently, and a window sill with a purple orchid. Pretty. Figaro would already bite on it. Were orchids cat-friendly? He needed to check that.

A hand stroking his cheek got his attention back. Steve was looking back at him, his all focus on Tony and a light smile playing on his lips.

Tony grinned, pushing the straw out from his mouth with tongue. “So, what are our plans?” he asked, trying to contain his excitement. While leaving his apartment and Fig behind, Tony packed three things - toothbrush, clean underwear for tomorrow and condoms. He hoped to use all three items. Not in the same time, of course.

“Are you hungry?” Steve asked, not that surprised when the brunet nodded enthusiastically.

“Always. What do you want to order? Maybe some real, American pizza?” he offered, remembering their talk.

Steve smiled weakly. After a month of a pizza and pasta based diet, he had enough. “I was thinking about preparing steaks,” he said, thoughts going to his kitchen and the morning grocery shopping.

“You can cook steak?” Tony asked, eyebrows raising up to his hairline when Steve nodded. “Woah, you’re hot and can prepare meat. I think I love you even more,” he hummed, scooting a bit closer to Steve.

“What if I tell you, that I planned potato wedges to go with steak and a chocolate cake for dessert?” he asked with a grin.

Tony leaned to back, faking fainting. “I say, take me right here, right now, on this couch,” he said in a flirting voice. He eeped, when a hand hooked around his side, and yanked him back.

“I will,” Steve promised, gently bumping his nose into Tony’s, before kissing him. “After lunch,” he added, standing up, before Tony could turn completely dizzy.

With slight regret, Tony settled back into the couch. “Okay, make mine medium and call me when you’re done!” he reached for the remote to keep himself occupied.

“What are you doing?” Steve asked, standing behind the couch, raising an eyebrow up. “Come and help me.”

Tony almost dropped the remote. “Me?!” he asked, voice getting a higher pitch. “I don’t know how to cook!”

Steve laughed friendly. “I am sure you can wash the lettuce for salad.”

“Do you even know me?” Tony asked, eyes narrowing. He wriggled his hand away when Steve reached for it, to pull him up. “Ah ah! First my present!” he scolded, waggling his finger at the other man.

“Blackmailer,” Steve cooed affectionately, giving up and going to his bedroom to get the gift. “You should be the one giving me something as a welcome back gift!”

“I will!” Tony called, putting his arm on the couch back, looking after the blond. “It is in my pants!”

When Steve walked out of the bedroom, he rolled his eyes in humor. He sat back, and handed his boyfriend a black material bag with white colosseum scribbled on it. “Here.”

Tony smiled and quickly took the bag. He put his hand in and took a small item, wrapped in few layers of white tissue paper. After unwrapping it, he saw a small porcelain cat, white with black spots on its head and body, pink nosed and with closed eyes, the front paw lifted up as the cat licked it.

“Awww,” Tony melted a little bit, looking at the figurine, perfect and ready to join his cat collection he had back home, “thanks,” he leaned to Steve and locked their lips in a kiss.

After the kiss, Steve tapped on the bag. “That’s not all.”

With enthusiasm, Tony opened the bag further and took a smaller one, taking out a bright pink shirt. He unrolled it and snorted at the white ’Gattara’ in a curly font.

“Do you know what it means?” Steve asked, eyes sparkling with a secret he couldn’t wait to share.

Tony nodded, laughing to himself. Crazy cat lady. Just in Italian. “Thanks, baby, but I think it will be too small,” he grinned, putting the shirt against his black one.

“No, it’s perfect. Try it on,” Steve encouraged with a smile.

Tony shot him a funny look. “Alright,” he agreed, just to prove the blond wrong, and quickly took off his own shirt, and pulled the pink one on. It was stretchy and clingy and of course, too small, ending half way his torso. “See? Told you!” Tony pointed out, spreading his arms to the sides so the other man could see better.

Steve licked his lips, seeing Tony’s biceps, muscled chest and bare stomach with the cutest belly button in the world. “No, it is perfect,” Steve insisted, suddenly lunging himself at Tony and pinning him down, making him screech in delight, when Steve’s big hands slid into his pants.

Steaks could wait.

***

Tony yawned, bunching the covers around himself, stretching his arms up. He lowered himself comfortably into the pillow, blinking at the white ceiling. It was a new experience to woke up without Figaro’s fluffy body taking either half of the bed, or half of his face. He looked around and noticed that the bed was empty and that it was just past 9 am, the numbers flashing on Steve’s digital clock. Steve probably was in the kitchen, fixing breakfast for both of them. He hoped that his boyfriend wasn’t in an advanced state of preparing, as Tony spotted some blueberries in the fridge last night, and he could really go for some blueberry pancakes.

Instead of walking through the door, he heard water flushing and Steve came in from the adjoined bathroom, only in pajama pants and temptingly muscled. His eyes turned soft, when he saw that Tony was awake.

“Hey,” Steve whispered in a tender voice, slowly climbing back into the bed and over his sleepy boyfriend.

“Hey yourself,” Tony replied cheekily, letting his fingers brush up and down Steve’s sides in a tender move.

“Did you sleep well?” Steve asked, gently settling on his boyfriend pressing him into the soft bed.

Tony nodded. “Your neighborhood is calmer than mine.” He admitted, although it might have been the lack of Figaro waking him up at 3 am for a snack or simply because the cat was bored and knocked something down.

Steve came to the same conclusion, but didn’t feel like pointing that out and disturbing their morning. Speaking of Figaro… Was it too early to start this topic? He thought that he could wait after they ate, but he scolded himself, knowing that he would always find some excuse.

“Tony,” Steve started, his throat becoming unpleasantly dry, “I need to tell you something…”

“Mhhhm?” Tony asked, smiling gently, warm and content, the timid rays of sun making his hair appear in a gold brown shade.

“It’s - it’s that – ” Steve stuttered, never being good with words, and finding forming proper sentences particularly difficult now. He was good at drawing, though, maybe he could draw it out for Tony? “Tony, I know –” he frowned when he saw that Tony’s eyes were crinkling in the corners, and there was a playful smile on his lips.

“What?” Steve frowned deeper, not expecting this reaction.

“You left the bathroom door open,” Tony giggled, pointing it out.

Steve sighed. Why Tony was doing this to him and changing the subject? “Well, yeah, so Figaro could go anytime he wants–” Steve stopped, his mouth staying open as he just heard himself. Figaro wasn’t even here. It was just something he started to do unconsciously.

That made Tony giggle even more, as he found this all hilarious.

“Oh, you think this is funny?” Steve threatened, leaning his face closer.

“Kinda,” Tony giggled, hiding more into the covers, eyes crinkling and nose scrunching. Too cute.

Steve hummed, moving his hands and experimentally prodding at Tony’s ribcage.

“HAH!! Stehihve!” Tony laughed, trying to roll out from underneath his boyfriend.

Steve pressed him firmer into the covers, fingers playing against his boyfriend’s ribs and digging into his sides. “I’ll show you funny!” he snapped in a playful manner, loving the squeaking and panicked laughter and the poor attempts at getting away.

***

It happens that when things go great, people forget about things that would bring them down. That happened to Steve. He pushed the thought about Bucky causing Figaro’s accident deep down into his brain, telling it to shut up and let his heart take over. And his heart told him, that he loved Tony and Tony loved him back, and nothing would ruin that for them.

Nothing.

Nothing?

“Whaaat?” Tony called in disbelief, balancing on the sidewalk curb, Figaro walking beside him on the leash. It was a week after Steve came back from Italy and things were perfect between them. Tony and Figaro were after work and as usual, Steve came to walk Tony back to his house. Or maybe back to Steve’s house. They didn’t decide yet.

“That’s stupid!” Tony scoffed further. “Why would I name Figaro after a cat from ’Pinocchio’?!” he called, seeming deeply offended by the idea.

“I don’t know,” Steve shrugged with a smile, “because you like Disney?”

Tony made a disgusted face. “Disney from 80s and 90s, not old Disney.”

“What is wrong with ’Pinocchio’?”

Tony stopped, eyes widening in horror. “It is about a puppet coming to life!!”

“Um, so?” Steve also stopped, looking puzzled. Only Figaro didn’t stop, still walking to the full length of his leash, until he ran out and Tony had to resume walking.

“Haven’t you seen Chucky?!” Tony scoffed.

“I have,” Steve admitted, remembering the old movie he once watched as a kid, not knowing what it had to do with anything. Tony raised his hands up dramatically, not believing that his boyfriend was so dense. Steve only laughed. “Okay, let’s pretend I get it,” he grinned, “then why you named him Figaro?”

“Because of that Italian opera,” Tony replied in one breath, and Steve only looked back at him. “’The Barber of Seville’? No?” he continued to ask, getting only a blank stare in return. “Were you raised in a cave?”

Steve burst into laughter, seeing that Tony was totally serious. “Um, no? Sorry, I am not an opera kind of guy.”

Tony nodded, not arguing with that.

“Didn’t know you were,” Steve continued.

Tony kicked some imaginary dirt on the sidewalk, eyes cast down. “My parents used to take me to the opera every Sunday. Mom liked it.”

“Oh…” Steve eyed his boyfriend with a soft look. From their dating time, he already knew that it was hard for Tony to talk about his parents. “My dad used to take me to baseball games,” he said. It was one of the not many memories he had of his father.

“Pfff,” Tony blew a raspberry with his mouth. “Boring. You win.”

“No, I actually liked that,” Steve smiled to himself. It was a nice memory. He caught Tony smiling briefly until his usual expression set in and knew that Tony liked going to the opera with his parents. Maybe they could go together one day.

Suddenly, Tony froze. He stood on the curb, eyes wide, craning his neck to see better.

“Tony? What happened?” Steve stopped too.

Tony frowned, as if not believing his own eyes. His chest rose up and down, a strangled breath escaping him. “I know that car,” he said, whispering and looking somewhere.

Steve’s eyes followed to the road, while he saw cars stopping on the red light. The first car in the middle lane was a bright blue beetle car.

“Ah,” Steve smiled, recognizing it. Bucky claimed that he bought it for laughs, but it really was sentiment over an old school beetle car Bucky really loved and he and Steve had crashed when they were 16 years old. Good times. “Yeah, that’s–” Steve didn’t finish, panic clenching his throat. Did Bucky have the same car two years ago?

The change was quick and rapid. Tony didn’t look shaken anymore, but furious. “Hold Fig,” he told Steve, pushing the leash into his chest and jumping off the curb, marching into the street.

“Tony!!” Steve called, terrified to see his boyfriend zigzagging between cars, getting closer and closer to the beetle. “Tony, what are you doing?!” he yelled after him, kneeling down to take Figaro in his arms, and sprinting after the charging brunet.

“Hey!” Tony yelled, standing next to the beetle and knocking with his knuckles against the window. He would never forget this car and there were not many people driving in a bright blue beetle in this city. He was ready to give the driver a piece of his mind.

His voice got temporarily lost when the window zoomed down, and he saw Bucky inside, looking puzzled at him.

“Bucky!” Steve called, finally gaining on them. Tony stood there, frozen again, hand pressed against his mouth. His eyes were wide and there was so much confusion in them.

“Steve, what’s going on?” Bucky asked, eyes darting from Tony to Steve until they rested on Figaro. As soon as Bucky saw the cat in Steve’s arms, his face drained of color and it confirmed Tony’s assumptions.

Violently Tony turned to Steve, anger and betrayal deeply seated in his posture. “Did you know?” he asked in a quiet, icy whisper.

“I didn’t,” Steve replied right away, just because he couldn’t stand to see no usual warmth for him in the brown eyes.

Still no warmth, but fire blazing. “Don’t bullshit me, Steve! Did you know?!” Tony asked again, his words perfectly hearable, despite that the light changed to green and cars behind them started to honk.

Steve couldn’t take it. Why didn’t he tell Tony earlier? “Yes,” came out of his mouth.

Tony took a half step back, looking at Steve in disbelief. He saw Tony’s eyes change again, no more fire, but hurt and disappointment and sadness. So much sadness.

“Tony,” Steve plead, feeling his heart breaking as Tony’s mouth twisted, tears glistening in his eyes, “Tony, please, let me explain–”

He wasn’t allowed to explain, as Tony stepped back to him and forcefully took Figaro out of his arms. “You don’t deserve him,” he ground out, voice weak with tears, and he rushed between the cars getting out of the street.

“Tony!!” Steve called, his heart on the road, crushed and bleeding. “Tony!!” he tried to go after him, but didn’t have so much luck and a car speeding past him cut his way, angry horn following.

“Steve!! Steve!!” Bucky called, seeing his friend trying to make it through the traffic. He opened the car door and grabbed the frantic blond by the back of his shirt, pulling him closer. “Get in the car, or you will get killed!!” he yelled.

Steve didn’t know why, but he listened. He rushed to the other side and collapsed on the passenger seat, covering his face with both hands, feeling like if the road opened him and swallowed him, crushing his every bone. He felt sick with himself.

Bucky started the car and they drove away. He looked to the right, seeing his best friend, utterly devastated. “I am so sorry, Steve,” he whispered, saying the only thing he could.

Steve didn’t answer, feeling that if he would try to talk, he might crack and shed unwanted tears. It would be so easy to blame everything on Bucky, but it wasn’t his fault. Bucky made a mistake in the past, Steve made a mistake now. He was the one to blame. He lost Tony. He lost him.

And then he started to shake, tears taking over him.

***

Riiiing. Riiiing. Riiiing.

Steve wouldn’t give up. Once he made it home, he took his phone and dialed Tony’s number, time after time. Tony had to let him explain.

Every call was ignored. Steve was ready to call for the whole day, when after third failed attempt, he started to dial Tony’s number again, when the phone rang back, Tony’s photo flashing on the screen. Tony was calling him back. Steve answered immediately.

“Tony?!” he asked, heart in his throat.

“What?” came an angry hiss from the other side of the phone, no trace of sadness or tears. Tony had to be tired from the stubborn calls.

“Tony, please let me explain–” Steve started to talk, quickly being cut off by Tony.

“Explain what? How you decided to hide the truth from me?!”

“I wanted to tell you, I swear, but then I went to Italy and–”

“What?!”

Steve froze. Hurt and betrayal again.

“You knew it back then?” Tony whispered, and Steve would so prefer if he yelled it out. Not this hurt voice, simmering with anger. “You knew it back when I told you that I love you?!”

“Tony–”

“How can I trust you now?!”

“Tony, please–”

He wasn’t allowed to explain as Tony ended the call. He tried calling back, but no one answered.

***

Once, Steve got in a bar fight. He didn’t remember how it happened, but he remembered a chair smashing against his back. That hurt like hell. He wasn’t idle, and when the guy pulled him back up, Steve threw a punch, dislocating attacker’s jaw. In the end, he had a broken nose, bruised rib cage, and a twisted arm. Back then, he thought that it was pain.

He would trade a hundred bar fights just to stop the pain he felt in his heart now.

Why didn’t he tell Tony? He could do it better, in a calm setting, keeping Tony’s small hands in his, stopping them from trembling. Maybe he could even invite Bucky over so he could say how it looked from his perspective. Instead, they dealt with it in the middle of a street, yelling Tony’s name in panic, and then he even made it even worse when he let panic take over him and made that unnecessary phone call.

Panic. Steve panicked. He never before loved anyone as much as he loved his snarky barista. He couldn’t lose him. He couldn’t hurt him. In the end, he did both.

Was he really trying to protect Tony or was he trying to protect himself?

“Go and talk to him,” Bucky said firmly, when two days after the incident, he had forcefully marched into Steve’s home, bringing his friend fresh groceries, as Steve didn’t leave his apartment. What was the point, he didn’t have anywhere to go to anyway, and nothing to do with no classes during summer time. Bucky was slightly terrified when he saw Steve for the first time, unshaved and in an old shirt which probably once was white.

“He doesn’t want to see me,” Steve rasped out, not looking back at Bucky. He tried to contact Tony many times since the call. More phone calls, text messages, even skype. Each time he was ignored. He thought about going to the Meow Cafe, about ambushing Tony and forcing him to listen, but he didn’t feel strong enough to be rejected again.

“Steve, come on. You miss him and I am sure he misses you,” Bucky urged, opening the curtains to let some sunlight in.

Steve did miss him. So much. He missed wakening up next to Tony, missed the sound of his laughter, missed the coffee tasting lips… He also missed Figaro.

‘You don’t deserve him’.

Those words were like a dagger in his heart.

'You don’t deserve him.’

They didn’t mean only Figaro.

“Okay, I have enough of this,” Bucky growled, unsticking Steve from the couch and pulling him up, “I gave you two days to pull your shit together and that didn’t work, so we are doing things my way now. Get clean, get dressed and I will give you a lift so you could go and talk to your barista,” he decided, pushing his friend into the bathroom and slamming the door behind.

Like a half hour later and some cleaning of the apartment performed by Bucky, Steve was clean shaved and freshly showered, and almost had a breakdown when in the bedroom, he had found Tony’s pink shirt stuffed under his pillow. It took another half hour for him to calm down, and true to his words, Bucky drove him to the cafe. Steve’s stomach twisted painfully, when he got out of the car, and saw Olivier napping on the window sill, just like on the day he came back from his trip and was still loved by Tony.

“Do you want me to wait here?” Bucky asked, his voice less rough as he finally succeeded in getting Steve out.

Steve shook his head after a while. He couldn’t risk Tony seeing the blue beetle, that would immediately set him in a hostile mood. “No, I will be fine,” he said quietly.

“Okay,” Bucky said in an understanding voice, “call me how it went,” he said, giving Steve and encouraging smile and driving away.

Steve stood there, collecting his courage, taking first steps. The little bell announced his entrance, and he didn’t look at any of the customers, marching straight to the bar.

Just Tony wasn’t there.

“Hi!” some girl leaned over the counter, smiling friendly, her hair ear length and layered, giving it volume. Under the apron, was a black shirt with yellow stripes. “Welcome to the Meow Cafe,” she recited, eyeing Steve with sparkling eyes. “Do you come here often? What do you want to order? Do you like cats? Do you want to work here? Are you single?” she asked in one breath, and Steve felt a bit overwhelmed with the questions.

“That’s Tony’s ex-boyfriend.”

Steve right away tensed in anger. The sentence was said by Bruce, operating the coffee machine, not even granting Steve with a look.

“Oh,” Janet said, straightening up, the friendly smile suddenly gone.

“We didn’t break up,” Steve said in the direction of Bruce’s back, trying to keep his voice firm.

“That’s not what Tony says,” Bruce replied matter of factly.

“Is Tony here?” Steve asked, not having time for such games.

Janet took a moment to answer. “He is changing.”

“Jan,” Bruce hissed in warning.

“What? He came here to talk with Tony, he can’t be that bad, can he?”

“Okay, losers, I am ready–” Tony waltzed out from the personnel room, in his daytime clothes, apron left behind him. He stopped and didn’t finish his sentence upon seeing Steve.

“Someone came to see you,” Janet offered helpfully in a low hum, and Tony glared at her.

“Tony, can we talk?” Steve asked, before Bruce or Jan could further interfere.

Tony looked away from him. “Bruce? Where is the 'we have a right to refuse service to anyone’ sign?”

Ouch. “Tony, it won’t take long,” Steve said at the same time, as Bruce explained that Pepper threw that sign away.

Tony crossed his arms. “Okay. Talk,” he nearly ordered.

Steve just stared. Here? In the middle of the cafe? In front of everyone?

Tony sent him an impatient look, raising eyebrows up.

He won’t get a second chance. Steve opened his mouth to say the whole prepared earlier speech, when the bell rang again.

“Tony, are you ready?”

Steve knew that voice. He whipped around, watching Tiberius Stone walking in his direction.

Or more, in Tony’s direction.

“In a minute!” Tony called, looking back at Steve, waiting.

“Just hurry up, we will be late for the movie,” Ty urged him, finding it necessary to say.

Steve’s blood boiled. There were no words.

Tony hmphed, tired of waiting. He opened the bar and walked out, not even looking at Steve when he passed him, going straight to Ty.

“See you guys later!” he called to his co-workers.

Steve turned around. He saw Tony walking out with Tiberius, and the guy wrapped his arm around Tony’s shoulders and didn’t get shaked off. What was more, he turned around for a second, second enough to sent Steve a victorious smile, before he went out of the cafe with someone’s else boyfriend.

Without his consent, Steve’s fists tightened in anger. He pictured his fist meeting with guy’s teeth and it was a lovely image.

He wasn’t the only one looking after the people who left.

Steve turned around and noticed Gizmo, laying on the couch and looking after the person who brought him in. Of course, since Tony was free, Tiberius didn’t care about the cat anymore. Didn’t Tony mention once, that Ty wanted to adopt Gizmo, but his apartment was being renovated? What a bunch of crap.

Steve walked to the couch and sat next to the black and white cat, petting his smooth back. “Sorry this happened to you, buddy,” he apologized, feeling bad for the cat. Gizmo started to purr sweetly, and closed his eyes in content. It wasn’t long, until Steve felt someone brushing against his legs. His eyes widened in shock, when he saw Figaro.

“Fig?!” he called, picking the cat up and placing in his lap. “What are you doing here?” he asked his friend, not expecting an answer and not understanding. Tony never before left Figaro in the cafe. Fig either stayed at Tony’s home, or Tony brought him to work and each day took him back with him. Steve looked mortified at the door, where Tony disappeared just minutes ago. What was going on?

“Meow,” Figaro demanded attention, brushing his furry face against Steve’s cheek.

Steve laughed softly, using one hand to pet Gizmo, the other one busy with stroking Figaro’s back. “I am so sorry, Fig,” he apologized. Figaro didn’t answer, but Steve could swear that his purring was on a sad note.

There was a soft cling, and Steve saw a glass with orange juice being put next to him on the small table. He looked up and saw Jan, looking back at him with sadness.

“I didn’t order it,” he said truthfully.

“It is on me,” Jan said, sitting on the couch arm, and scratching Gizmo under his chin. “Steve, right?”

Steve nodded, not understanding what Janet wanted from him.

“You have to fix it,” she said quickly, not taking her eyes off Gizmo.

“Um, excuse me?” Steve asked, unsure if she addressed to the cat or to him.

Janet sighed and straightened, looking directly at Steve. “I work here for nearly a month. I don’t know Tony that long, but I know, that while you two were together, it was the happiest I saw him. And that guy–” Jan looked at the door, her perky nose scrunching up in disgust while she thought about Stone, “he is not good for Tony. Fix it.”

Steve felt something cold, despite having a lap full of a purring warm cat. He looked at his knees, or more at Figaro, as he could barely see them underneath the cat. “I wish I could,” he stated sadly.

“Tony loves you. He didn’t stop,” Jan said, and that made Steve’s heart flutter with hope. “And you love him back. I can see it. Fix it,” she nearly gave an order and retracted behind the bar.

When Steve decided to look back, he caught Bruce staring at him. Tony’s friend didn’t say anything, and after a while, turned his gaze away, looking defeated, silently agreeing with Janet.

Steve looked back at the door, stroking Figaro’s back. He decided.

He would get Tony back. And Figaro.

He would get them both back.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve are reunited again! Or maybe they would, if Tiberius wasn’t getting in the way all the time. Apart from that, misery likes company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, things look bad... Unfortunately, it will get even worse, both for Tony and Steve, as Tiberius shows his true colors. just a warning that end of this chapter gets reaaalllyyy sad as all anger and feeling of being betrayed gets culminated in one point, so brace yourself. (I am kinda proud that I packed so much drama in one chapter, but I promise that things will work out and in the end of it all, there is a happy ending!)

“You didn’t have to walk me back all the way here.”

“It is not a problem, Tony.”

Depends on for who it was a problem. Tony, of course, didn’t say that out loud, just reached to his pocket, and took out the key to the gate in front of his building. As he put the key in the lock, a big hand rested on top of his. If the key wasn’t already inside, Tony would drop it.

“Ty…” he started insecurely, looking away from the gate and at Tiberius. The man was looking at him, deep and focused, his eyes having a gentle and loving look. Crap.

Tony swallowed, noticing that minimally, Ty leaned closer to him. “Ty…” he started again. “I just got out from a serious relationship,” Tony said, his heart already twisting. Did he really get out? He and Steve never officially broke up. Tony liked to think that they did, but they never had a proper closure. Focus, Stark. “I am not looking for anyone at the current moment,” he said, hoping that the other man would back away.

“I understand, Tony,” Ty said, not moving away. If so, he got even closer.

If Tony could, he would disappear through the gate, but with it still being closed, he was trapped. And Tiberius was getting closer and closer. “What I really want now, is a friend,” Tony said in a hurried voice, hoping that this time, he made it clear enough.

It worked. Ty moved his hand away, and Tony used this moment, to quickly turn the key, hearing the click to freedom. Just Ty was still too close for Tony to feel comfortable.

“I know,” Ty smiled, his face just inches apart from Tony’s. “I respect that. I will wait for you. You are worth waiting,” he said, pressing a gentle kiss to Tony’s forehead. It probably was supposed to be comforting, but Tony just feel a cold shiver.

Tony forced a smile on his lips and said his goodbye, closing the gate behind him and trying not to run, as he felt Ty’s burning look on his back. He felt relatively safe when he crossed the second gate and took the elevator to his floor. Finally, he made it to his apartment, unlocked the door and closed behind, letting the full body shiver he was holding back take over him.

It didn’t feel right.

How come that inviting Steve to his home on their first date felt so safe and good, while Tony couldn’t picture doing the same with Ty?

Tony sighed and leaned his back against the door, letting himself slide all the way down, ducking his head down.

Steve.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Steve.

It wasn’t helping, that each day after work, Steve kept coming into the cafe. It seemed that he didn’t even want to talk with Tony, just be there, hoping that maybe one day, Tony would talk with him. He was a regular customer, ordering coffee and cakes, and playing with cats. Tony refused to serve him, and ignored him each time, pretending that Steve wasn’t even there. Unlucky for Tony and lucky for Steve, there was Janet, who was happy to see that Steve wasn’t giving up, and she became his regular waitress.

“Oh,” Tony said, feeling someone staring at him. He looked up and saw Figaro, sitting in some distance in front of him, green eyes piercing through him. He could already say that Figaro was silently judging him.

“What?” Tony snapped at his cat. “Whaaat?” he urged, not getting an answer.

Figaro’s ears twitched. He turned around and swooped the floor with his luxurious tail, clearly upset.

“It is not my fault, Fig!” Tony called after the cat. Figaro wasn’t in the cafe for days. He missed his cat friends and Bruce and Jan and Pepper, but most of everyone, he missed Steve. The first days Steve had started to come to the cafe on everyday basis, Fig always happily trotted to the blond, sitting in his lap and getting nibbles of Steve’s food. The happy sight was angering Tony, so each time he saw Steve getting closer, he grabbed Figaro and locked him in the cats’ room. That resulted in pathetic meowing and nearly clawing a hole in the wooden door, and Tony didn’t have a different choice than to start leaving Figaro at home. And Figaro didn’t take kindly being left out.

“it is not my fault…” Tony repeated, this time to himself, hiding head in his arms. He was already miserable and confused, and Figaro was just making it worse for him.

Seemed that the day won’t get better for Tony.

“Yeah, we will see about that.”

“Gah!!” Tony screamed out, not aware that he wasn’t alone. He flung his head up and hit the back of it on the hardwood, hissing in pain.

“Hey, Tony! You ok?”

“Owww…” Tony whined, massaging the sore spot. He blinked through the pain, seeing a figure in front of him. “Rhodey?!”

“Yeah,” Rhodey smiled, a little bit sorry that he scared his friend.

“What are you doing here?” Tony asked, still rubbing the back of his head. He didn’t expect to see Rhodey in the nearest weeks. He had a crazy work schedule that made him travel all across the states.

“Pepper called me. She said that you and Steve have some troubles,” Rhodey replied, a frown appearing on his face.

Tony cast his eyes down. Oh, yeah…

“Who was that guy?” Rhodey asked, and Tony didn’t have to look up to know that he meant Tiberius. Rhodey probably saw everything from the window.

“That’s Ty,” Tony answered flatly.

It took a second to get an answer, as Rhodey had to go through the list of people Tony told him about. “That guy you job flirted with and he took it for real flirting?”

Tony nodded.

“Damn, Tones… I told you to not do that! So, now what? Did you and Steve break up because of that guy? Is he your new boyfriend!”

“No!” Tony replied immediately, firmly closing his eyes, feeling the sting under his eyelids. God, not now…

“Then what is going on? I leave just for a week and—” Rhodey stopped his rant, noticing that Tony became quiet and still, just a sporadical shiver run through him from time to time. “Tony, are you–” he didn’t really have to finish, hearing a confirming chocked out sob.

Tony didn’t want to cry. Since he went to the cinema with Ty, he didn’t cry even once. Just in this moment, everything was flooding back to him. Happy moments with Steve, Steve lying to him, kitten Figaro on a street, the shocked face in the blue car, Ty looming closer and closer… It was too much.

“Hey,” a gentle whisper and Tony felt himself being pulled into an embrace as Rhodey sat on the floor next to him. “It will be fine,” Rhodey comforted, running a hand through Tony’s gel stiffened hair. “Do you want me to go and beat Steve up?”

Tony couldn’t help but snort tearfully. He shook his head.

“No? Okay. Then tell me what happened.”

Taking a shaky breath in, Tony complied.

***

“That fucking dickweed is not letting Tony out of his sight!!”

Bucky gasped exaggeratedly, dramatically dropping a fry back on his plate. “Language!” he scolded.

Steve furrowed his eyebrows, silently chewing the last piece of burger, sending his friend an angry look. Not the time and place.

Bucky put his hands in a calming position. “Sorry, force of habit,” he admitted, lips twitching into a smile. Steve rarely cursed, but when he did, he could spew out the worst profanities Bucky had ever heard. They grew up in the same part of Brooklyn, yet, Bucky couldn’t figure out from where Steve learned such juicy language.

“This is serious, Buck!” Steve insisted, pointing his finger at the man in front of him. “Even if I wanted to, I can’t get close to Tony! That asshole is always there!”

“Did you try talking with Tony on his way home?” Bucky asked, picking up the fry and dipping it in ketchup.

“Of course I did,” Steve scoffed, “he walks Tony back home. I don’t understand! He is there when I come, he is there when Tony ends his shift, Janet told me that he is there even in the mornings! Doesn’t he have a job or something?!”

“Maybe he doesn’t need to be at his job,” Bucky sighed, eating the fry. “You saw his car, right? He must be stinking rich.”

Steve growled. He already cleared his plate, and reached across the table, grabbing a handful of fries from Bucky’s table.

Bucky tsked at such rude behavior. “Hey, I know that when you are angry you eat, but leave my plate alone!” he scolded his friend, putting a protective hand over the rest of his fries.

Steve sighed. This was all getting into his head too much. “Sorry, I… I just don’t know what to do,” he admitted in a miserable voice, sipping his soda through a straw, blowing some bubbles into the beverage.

“I know,” Bucky quietly agreed, waving to Beth, their friendly waitress, motioning for her to bring Steve the same. The girl waved back and disappeared into the kitchen to place an order. “Maybe don’t go to the cafe for few days?”

“What?!” Steve snapped his head up, eyes set in anger. Was Bucky suggesting him to give up?

Bucky sighed impatiently. Steve could be so hotheaded. “That other guy goes there every day to make sure that you won’t talk with Tony, right? Outsmart him. Let him think he won and lay low for few days, that way he will stop being such a cerberus.”

“That… might actually work,” Steve agreed. Maybe it was a way. “But what if Tony will think that too?”

“Hmmm, true,” Bucky agreed, smearing ketchup all over his plate with the last fry, “I guess we will have to believe that true love conquers all,” he decided, popping the fry into his mouth.

Steve watched his friend with a sorry pout. He knew that he was an asshole in the last days. Bucky was remarkably patient with him.

“Buck, I am sorry–”

“Don’t be,” Bucky grinned, waving a dismissive hand at Steve and grinning. “I understand. It must be hard when after years of celibacy you finally found someone who is willing to put it out for you, and then have it taken away. Hi Beth!” he smiled wide, when Beth was putting a plate with a just made burger and fries in front of Steve, stopping midway when she heard the last words.

Steve slapped both hands to his face, hiding, but he still felt the curious look Beth sent him.

“Hi,” she replied to Bucky, putting the plate down. She patted Steve’s arms consolingly. “Don’t worry, Steve, you will find a way,” she tried to cheer up and Steve could only guess that Bucky already told her about his heart problems. “Milkshake?”

Steve nodded, in the same time as Bucky cut in.

“He is lactose intolerant,” he reminded about Steve, and Steve parted his fingers just to glare. “Okay, fine!” Bucky agreed, dramatically, but Beth didn’t listen anymore, already going back to her job. “Maybe it is for the best that you are not banging anyone tonight if you plan on binging on milk– HEY!” Bucky cried out, when a ketchup covered fry hit him in the face and slid down the middle of his shirt, leaving a ketchup trial, for which Steve definitely wasn’t sorry.

***

Rhodey didn’t interrupt Tony even once during his whole story. He listened patiently, keeping all comments to himself, aware that if he would try to say something too early, Tony would close in himself, like a little, sad clam. Yes, it did happen already few times.

“Oh, Tony…” Rhodey shook his head sadly, hearing the whole story. “Tony, Tony, Tony…”

“What?” Tony grumbled in an irritated voice, pulling his knees closer and hugging them, hiding his face. And so the clam state began.

“Tony, you have all the right to be pissed off. But don’t you think you are exaggerating just a little, tiny bit?” Rhodey asked, insecurely, bringing his thumb and forefinger close, just to show what he meant by tiny. He could see Tony stiffening in anger.

“No,” came the hard answer.

“Tony, don’t get me wrong. I am not by any means defending Steve, but… look at Figaro!” he let go of Tony to point to the leaving room, where Figaro, curled on the couch, was eyeing his friends and looking like an angry fur cap. “Do you think he remembers his accident?”

Tony looked down. He could argue that Figaro was an exception, but it was highly probably that no, he didn’t remember. After all, he was just a kitten, and soon, from leaving on a street, he transferred to sleeping in bed and eating overpriced tuna.

“No,” Tony answered after a long moment, anger not present in his voice or posture anymore.

“No,” Rhodey repeated, trying to get Tony to understand. “But he does remember Steve. And he remembers how happy you were together. I remember how happy you were with Steve.”

Tony fidgeted, and started to pick on the material of his jeans. He was happy with Steve. So, so happy. So happy he couldn’t put it into words. That’s why his heartbreak was so large.

“Tony,” Rhodey moved closer, wrapping an arm around his friend. “Promise me that tomorrow when Steve comes to the cafe, you will try and talk with him.”

One chance. Steve asked him for a chance. Tony didn’t even give him that. And Steve seemed to care. Why else would he show up in the cafe every day?

“For me and Figaro?”

Oh, low blow.

Begrudgingly, Tony nodded, barely visible, agreeing.

Rhodey half smiled. That would do for now. Still, he had to cheer Tony a little bit.

“If you change your mind, I can still go beat Steve up.”

“Rhodey!” Tony laughed, pushing his best friend away.

***

The next day, Tony was waiting anxiously for Steve to show up. He was role-playing in his mind things he wanted to say, trying to guess Steve’s reaction and the possible outcome. When 4 pm was on the clock, Tony’s stomach was doing somersaults. It was the usual time Steve showed up, after he finished his classes. Near 6 pm, Tony felt numb.

Steve didn’t show up.

Maybe he pushed him away one time too much, and Steve couldn’t take it anymore? Maybe… Maybe he gave up on him.

Or maybe he was busy. He probably was busy with helping kids with extra curriculum activities. It was probably that.

Steve was very busy, as he didn’t show the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that day. And –

“Tony, what’s wrong?”

“Hm?” Tony blinked owlishly, staring into the space in front of him. He spaced out.

“You are drying this mug for like five minutes now,” Tiberius pointed out. He was sitting at the bar, drinking a cup of black coffee.

Tony smiled crookedly, putting the mug back on the cupboard with others. Ty did show up every day. Ty cared about him. Steve clearly didn’t. Steve probably moved on and forgot.

“It is near closing,” Ty said, looking at his wrist watch. “Do you want to grab a bite after you’re done?”

Did Ty care about him? And Steve didn’t?

“Yeah,” Tony answered, leaning down to pet Gizmo, who was zigzagging around his ankles.

Did he care about Ty? Or were his thoughts still with Steve?

Did he care about Steve even if they didn’t see each other for nearly a week?

Gizmo purred and nuzzled into Tony’s palm affectionately.

“Um, no, sorry, Ty,” Tony decided, straightening up, looking at Tiberius. “I have some things to finish at home.”

Tiberius smiled. “Okay. Maybe next time,” he said, finishing his coffee.

Maybe…

The clock on the wall started to beep gently.

It was time to close the cafe and let the cats have some rest.

Steve still didn’t show up.

***

Steve was marching in the cafe direction, his heart beating faster and palms becoming sweaty and clammy. He hoped that Bucky was right, and Ty would back off. Thanks to Janet, he knew that it was Tony’s turn to close the cafe, and he really, really hoped that Tiberius won’t be there. He just wants five minutes alone with Tony, was it too much too ask?

Steve crossed the road. Almost there.

Almost.

Soon he would know.

Soon…

Dammit!

***

Tony closed the door, and lightly tapped on the big window, smiling to the cats. “Bye guys! Will see you tomorrow!” he waved, and the cats observed him, getting ready for a night of mischief and play time. Till 6 am, this would be their kingdom.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go eat something?” Ty asked again, observing Tony. “They opened a new Italian restaurant nearby, I think you will like it.”

“Yhhhm,” Tony hummed. Somehow he lost all his love for Italian things. “No, thanks, I am beat. I want to go home,” he explained in a gentle voice, not wanting to offend his friend. He took the keys out and locked the cafe for the night, wrestling a bit with the key. “Gah! I told Pep to change the lock! One day, my key would get stuck in this thing!”

Ty smiled in humor. While Tony was struggling with a key, he realized that they were observed. And then he saw him. Far away from them, was Steve. When Tiberius looked at him, Steve was standing, but then he took a big step, not backing off. Ty silently cursed. He thought he made it clear enough! Tony was his.

Maybe he was too subtle.

Time to make it even clearer.

***

The initial shock, quickly passed when Tiberius looked in his direction. Him again! Steve didn’t want to curl his tail and backtrack like an obedient puppy. No, he decided to get Tony back. Undeterred, he took a step forward and focused on Tony. Ty could take a hike. He wanted to talk with Tony and he would do it and –

What…?

***

“Here, let me help,” Ty said and Tony registered a hand covering his own. When he turned his face to ask what the other man was doing, Ty leaned down, pressing his lips over Tony’s.

***

Steve stopped. That wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. He felt like someone drenched him in ice-cold water. He stood there, frozen and not believing his eyes and watched Tony and Tiberius kissing.

***

It didn’t last long. Only mere seconds. Those seconds were enough for Tiberius to notice that Steve suddenly vanished, probably taking a turn into one of the alleys. Good.

“What the fuck are you doing?!”

Tony yelled and Tiberius felt a strong push on his chest. Tony broke the kiss.

“The hell!!” Tony continued to scream, comically, still not able to pull out the key, and struggling with the key and yelling at the same time. “What was that about?!”

They kissed. Tiberius claimed his prize. Steve won’t show ever again.

He won.

“Tony, I will explain–” Ty started. No matter how victorious he felt, he had to play it well.

“The hell you will!! I told you I am not looking for anyone! You said I was worth waiting! You all are fucking liars! Leave me alone!” Tony yelled, forcefully pulling the key out and dashing down the street, running away, not wanting to see anyone.

Tiberius didn’t follow him. Of course, Tony was angry. Soon, he would understand and would come back. It wasn’t time for mourning, he had to celebrate finally getting rid of that annoying blond.

One step at the time…

***

“Hmph. I had a feeling I would find you here.”

Steve didn’t even flinch. He was sitting in a small bar in the middle of New York, in dim light, surrounded by people playing pool and sipping drinks, carefree and merry. Steve didn’t fit among them and didn’t plan on socializing today.

The bar stool next to Steve creaked quietly when Bucky placed his solid weight on it.

“It didn’t go well?”

Steve didn’t answer. He kept staring at his tall glass with beer, clutching desperately to it. It was half empty and lost it fizz a long time ago. Steve never liked the bitter taste of beer, and coupled with an already bitter taste of defeat in his mouth, it was a depressing mix.

“Hey,” Bucky put his hand on Steve’s arm and shook him a bit, getting alarmed by the prolonged silence. “Steve, talk to me.”

Steve raised his eyes to the ceiling. There was nothing to talk about. “They kissed.”

“Who?” Bucky asked before he could bite his tongue. “Your barista and that guy?!” he asked in a shocked whisper.

“Not mine any longer,” Steve grumbled, bringing the glass closer and planning to take a sip. He was not allowed, as Bucky forcefully pried the glass out of his hands. “Buck!” Steve whined.

“And you came here to drown your sorrows. I don’t get you, Steve! I thought you never give up!”

Steve lowered his head in shame. He used to think so about himself. How everything changed.

“I saw them kissing. There is nothing I can do now,” he grumbled, hearing an angry scoff.

“Yes, you can!” Bucky urged, not acting subtle anymore, and slamming Steve on the back, making his friend grunt in pain. “Tomorrow, you will go to the cafe again, and talk with him! I don’t care what you saw! If that idiot chose to be in a relationship with that other idiot, he should at least tell you that!” Bucky continued to rant and Steve looked at him, blinking in confusion but not asking who was the first idiot and who was the second idiot.

“In the meantime,” Bucky decided, and much to Steve’s horror, put the beer Steve was holding for the last two hours to his lips and gulped it down. He slammed the glass down, “I will make you sure that you won’t get drunk by drinking all of the beer in this joint. Bartender!”

A medium aged guy turned around from the bar area, raising one eyebrow at the brunet. “What, Barnes?” he asked, not impressed with Bucky calling his precious bar a joint.

“Give me a beer! Big one! In fact, give me a whole keg!” Bucky shouted, urging the bartender to move with impatient hand flailing. The bartender didn’t look impressed by his customer’s behavior but handed him a one anyway and soon enough, a new fresh, cold beer was held by Bucky.

“Anything for you, Rogers?”

“He is fine!” Bucky answered instead of Steve, patting his friend’s cheek, ignoring that Steve opened his mouth to say something. Steve gave a miserable sigh, but perked up, when a small glass bottle with orange juice and a clean glass slid in front of him.

“Thanks, Phil,” Steve smiled sadly at the bartender.

Phil nodded, and while Bucky was chugging the beer down, he leaned conspiratorially to Steve. “Relationship problems?” he asked in a whisper.

Steve sighed again. He didn’t know what was about him, that people were able to see right through him. “Kinda…”

Phil nodded again. “Remember, Steve. There is plenty of fish in the sea,” he advised and walked away, leaving Steve a bit speechless. He would ask Bucky what was it all about, but Bucky chose that moment to choke on beer, and suddenly Steve had a different problem to take care of.

***

“HE DID WHAT?!”

Tony didn’t want to repeat himself. He locked himself in the bathroom and kept gargling his throat with mouthwash. Maybe he should brush his teeth.

“Was it with tongue?”

“PFFF!!” Tony spit the mouthwash on the mirror, seeing his own shocked expression before the reflection got covered with a bluish, slightly foamy liquid. “RHODES!!” he scolded, taking a towel to wipe his face and the mirror.

“What?!” Rhodey yelled back, standing behind the closed door. “I am just asking to know if I should break only his arms, or both legs and arms!”

Tony cursed under his nose, putting away the wet towel to dry. What was with Rhodey and fighting everyone lately?

“Forget it. I am gonna do both,” Rhodey growled and walked away.

“NO!” Tony yelled, springing out from the bathroom and catching Rhodey, catching literally, as Tony wrapped himself around his friend, just in time as he was reaching for his jacket. Not that he was totally opposed of Rhodey beating Ty up. Maybe Ty deserved to be beaten up. “You don’t even know how he looks like!” Tony hissed, not letting Rhodey shake him off.

“I know how he looks like! I saw you both at the gate!” Rhodey argued back. He didn’t see all the details, but he could distinguish the shape and general characteristic. A tall, muscled blond, with a tan, clearly an asshole. Opposite to a different tall, muscled blond, just a pale one, but still an asshole.

“Even so, what are you going to do?! Walk aimlessly in circles and look for a rich, white guy to beat up?! You will get arrested!” Tony hissed, holding his short-tempered friend. At that, Rhodey stopped fighting and Tony slumped with relief against his back. “Don’t go…” he asked, voice getting a pleading note and he leaned his forehead against Rhodey’s back. “Don’t. For me and Figaro?” he tried, using the same words Rhodey used on him yesterday.

“Fine,” Rhodey agreed, some anger still in his voice. “But tomorrow I will walk you to the cafe. And if I see him, I am gonna slam his face into the sidewalk.”

Tony nodded. Anything to keep Rhodey home.

***

“I tell you, Shteve! He.. ik! Doesn’t deserve you!” Bucky bellowed into the night, walking arm in arm with Steve, or more, being dragged by Steve. Bucky kept his word and did attempt to drink the whole beer in SHIELD’s bar. He didn’t succeed, but still drank more than what was considered reasonable.

Steve just kept nodding patiently, listening to Bucky’s drank babbling. He needed to get his friend home and make sure to put a bucket and a bottle with water next to his bed. Maybe he should stay overnight, just in case. They made it to Bucky’s building and took the elevator up, Steve not risking Bucky tumbling down the stairs in his state. He opened the door and they walked inside, Bucky not even making it to his bedroom, just collapsing on the couch.

“Ugh…” Bucky grunted, stretching and taking the whole length of the couch. “Wait! I… I have to make a call,” he said, reaching into his pocket and taking out his phone.

“Buck, it is near midnight!” Steve reasoned, trying to take the phone away.

“NO!” Bucky shouted and there was no childish arguing, but a real need in his voice and that made Steve stop. “I - I need to make this call.”

“Alright,” Steve agreed, moving Bucky’s legs so he could sit down on the couch. If his friend would blabble, he won’t hesitate to take the phone away.

Bucky smiled crookedly and unlock his phone, using speed dial to get the right number. He waited with the phone pressed to his ear. Steve was curious who Bucky could be calling at this late hour and if the person would even pick up the phone.

“Hi, it is me,” Bucky suddenly said and Steve looked at him, curiosity winning. “Sorry for not coming today, I had an urgent thing to do – no, I am not drunk,” Bucky obviously lied, despite that he was slurring his words, grinning broadly. Steve smiled. Just a little. “Maybe a couple. Yeah, I will explain tomorrow. Sorry again. Love you!”

It would be like the most normal conversation in the world, if it wasn’t for the last part. ’Love you’?

“Who did you call?” Steve asked.

Bucky smiled bashfully, his eyes getting a warm glow. “My boyfriend.”

“You - you have a boyfriend?!” Steve blinked, not able to control the shock.

Bucky barked out a laugh and lightly kicked Steve. “Don’t act so surprised! You think you can be the only one in a relationship?”

Steve swallowed, having a nasty feeling in his gut. He was so focused on his own misery, that he didn’t notice anything around him. He was the worst friend ever. “Buck, why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, feeling a small grudge.

Bucky shrugged. “Why should I boast while you have a broken heart?” he asked back in a quiet voice.

Steve felt like someone hit him on the back of his head with a brick. He was officially the worst. He didn’t deserve a great boyfriend like Tony or a great friend like Bucky.

“Oh, Buck…” Steve sighed, “tell me more. Who is he?” he asked, maybe selfishly because of Bucky’s current state, but he desperately didn’t want to be alone.

“His name is Sam,” Bucky said, leaning his head to the back, “we collided with each other on the street and I made him spill his drink, so I invited him for a new one, and somehow it happened,” he told the story, and although Steve couldn’t see his face, he knew that Bucky was smiling. “One day I will introduce you to each other,” Bucky yawned, pulling down the blanket that was on the back of the couch and wrapping himself in it. Slowly, his eyes slid close. “You can go, Steve. I will be fine,” he yawned, curling to sleep.

“I know you will,” Steve smiled sadly. At this point, Steve wasn’t sure anymore if he himself would be fine. “Hey Buck,” he whispered, gently nudging his friend, “I am gonna invade your fridge, alright?” he asked, his stomach, and not only, feeling empty. Bucky snored. “I take it as a yes.”

***

The next day, Tony was nervous like never before. Ty didn’t show up yet, and Tony wasn’t sure if he would. Maybe he saw Rhodey walking him to the cafe, like the overprotective big brother he was, and that scared him off? Tony wasn’t sure. He didn’t know if he would see either Ty or Steve today.

“What’s wrong, Tony?” Janet asked, suddenly appearing next to Tony. “You are awfully quiet today,” she said, eyeing him with worry.

“Huh? I am fine, Jan,” Tony forced out a smile. Most of the day he had spent leaning over the counter and staring into space, not even bothering to pretend to work.

Jan looked suspicious at this. She stepped closer to Tony and sniffled around him, like a guard dog. She drew back, mouth hanging open in shock. “You kissed someone!” she announced in an accusing tone. “And–” more sniffling, “it wasn’t with Steve!”

Tony’s mouth fell. Jan’s mysterious powers were creeping him out.

“Well?” Janet asked, folding arms and looking harshly at her friend. “Who did you kiss? Did you kiss Tiberius? Why? Why would you kiss him? Tony, what’s going on? I thought you liked Steve! Why are you acting like that?!”

A million of little buzzing bees started to whirl in Tony’s head, Janet’s question making him dizzy.

“Jan, there is a table waiting for you!” Bruce called, busy near the coffee machine, as Tony refused to be helpful today.

Jan huffed her cheeks out and sent Tony a last angry look, indicating that their one-sided conversation wasn’t done. She took a tray and went to collect the empty plates from the appointed table.

Tony blew out a puff of air. Saved. “Thanks, Bruce,” he smiled weakly at his friend.

Bruce lowered his glasses and looked meaningfully at Tony. He didn’t have to say anything and Tony curled, feeling judged. He just wanted this day to end and to go home already.

***

Here he was again. Marching proud and tall to the cafe. The whole morning Bucky had cheered on him, repeating that he deserved an explanation, so many times, that Steve finally started to believe in it. He just wanted to know what was happening.

The closer he got, the more doubts he had. He never wanted to break up with Tony and if Tony tells him that it is over between them…. That would crush him. Was not knowing better?

It wasn’t.

He made it to the door and reached a shaky hand to the doorknob. Before he could press on it, someone grabbed his shoulder and brutally turned him around.

“What are you doing here?!”

Steve stared at a fuming Tiberius Stone. He didn’t see him earlier, and the guy had to be lurking around, making sure that Steve won’t come.

Steve didn’t back off. He looked cockily at the guy. “Last time I checked, it was a free country,” he answered in an arrogant tone.

The answer set off Tyberius more. “I thought I made it clear yesterday! You should stop showing around and confusing Tony! He is mine now!”

Steve didn’t like the sound of that. Tiberius didn’t sound like a jealous lover. He was whining like a greedy, spoiled rich kid wanting another pony in an already full stable. It dawned on Steve. Yesterday, it wasn’t a real kiss. Tiberius saw him. It was all for show. Demonstration of power. And he fell for it.

Feeling a new rush of hope and anger, Steve straightened up, knowing that he won’t back away. “I think that Tony can make decisions for himself.”

“Like the one with trusting you?”

That left a painful sting. He couldn’t picture Tony telling Tiberius what had happened between them. Ty was playing him. Just like he played him yesterday. Manipulative asshole.

“Trusting you will be a bigger mistake,” Steve hissed.

And then his world burst with white.

***

“Hey… Isn’t that Steve?” Bruce asked, squinting his eyes and looking at the glass door.

Janet and Tony looked in the same direction, Janet immediately brightening up with a smile, while Tony stiffened in silent panic.

“It is Steve!” Jan called, all happy to see him, hoping for a sweet, sweet reunion between the quarreled lovers. “And that guy!” she called in disgust.

“Oh no…” Tony groaned, watching Steve turning to face Ty. “What those morons are doing?!” he asked himself, having enough of everything. He stepped from behind the bar, planning to yell and tell them both to beat it and leave him alone, but then it happened. Janet gasped loudly, Bruce dropped a cup and Tony stood in shock, as Ty took a swing and socked Steve right in the jaw.

***

Steve knew how to fight. Growing up in Brooklyn taught him a thing or two, but still, when he didn’t have to, he preferred not to fight. In this moment, when he skidded backward because of the impact and saw Tiberius smiling at him mockingly, throwing him a challenge, he understood. Words won’t work with that guy.

***

Tony’s mouth dropped when he saw Steve moving his fist and hitting Ty back with a left hook, nearly knocking him down. “What the–” he gasped terrified, realizing that the cafe became unnaturally silent, as all the customers noticed the already pummeling men outside. “No, why here?!” Tony hissed, taking big steps, anger boiling in him. If those morons wanted to fight, they should take it elsewhere! More so, he was not some prize they could decide who gets! It was Tony’s decision! In this very moment, he didn’t want either of them!

Tony was close to the door, when he heard Janet’s blood-curdling scream.

“Tony, look out!!”

It happened that in the most horrifying moments of our lives, time tends to painfully slow down. It was a moment when everyone was thinking that it wasn’t happening and it was just a dream and that it was a high time to wake up, or that reality was a really bad movie and you could switch the channel. Tony wish he could do one of those things.

There was a cold sound of glass shattering, people screaming and he saw cats running in panic, as Steve and Tiberius barreled through the big, front window, glass shards flying everywhere.

***

Steve groaned, bouncing off the couch and hearing Tiberius landing next to him on the floor. His whole body ached and he didn’t register what had happened yet.

“Steve!!!”

Was that Tony screaming?

“No, please–”

Tony, what was happening?

Before Steve could ask any of those questions, he was harshly pulled up, his hands were twisted to the back and he was forcefully walked out from the cafe. With a corner of his eye, he saw that Tiberius, bleeding from a cut on his forehead, was thrown out in the same manner, surprisingly, escorted by Bruce, whose face set in cold anger. Clearly, he was stronger than looked.

Steve’s head was still spinning when he was pushed out from the cafe, Tiberius quickly following.

“Both of you scram before I call the police!!” some man yelled.

Steve looked to the back, and recognized Happy. He saw him only once, and remembered that he was Pepper’s husband. People started to leave the cafe, standing in the front and discussing among themselves what had just happened, looking frightened at Steve. Steve realized that his knuckles were bleeding and he had a cut on his cheek. In the chaos, he didn’t see Tiberius anywhere, as the guy had to flee, like the coward he was. Inside, Janet was running around, trying to call and find all the cats and lock them in the safety of the cats’’ room, Bruce soon joining her. He saw Pepper and Tony standing in the middle, among the shattered glass, Pepper with a furious look on her face.

“Tony, I can’t have your personal life affect work!” she was screaming, her voice perfectly hearable because of the lack of the main window.

“Pepper–” Tony, teary eyed and miserable, tried to get a word in, but his boss didn’t let him.

“I am sorry, Tony. You’re fired.”

The world stopped. Steve saw only Tony. The way his eyes glistened with tears and his breath stopped. Pepper walked away, leaving him, and Tony tightened his fists, looking at the glass scattered at his feet, trying to hold tears back.

People started to whisper among each other. They pointed from the shuttered window to Steve, to Tony, trying to figure out the pieces.

Steve didn’t care about anything. He had to get to Tony.

“No,” he heard a whisper, and someone pushing on his chest, not allowing him to take a step further. “Steve, you have to leave!” it was Janet, pleading him and shaking from the overwhelming moment.

“But – but Tony!” Steve needed to get to him. He saw Tony going to the cats’ room to collect his things and leave forever the place he loved so much.

He ruined Tony’s life.

“Go! I will take care of him! Just please go!” Janet urged, noticing Happy looming around dangerously, not pleased with Steve still being here, despite his warning. “Please!!”

Steve listened, although he didn’t want to. He turned on his heel and run, chased by everything that had happened. He was an idiot. He was the biggest idiot on earth. Tony would never forgive him. Tears blurred his vision but he kept running, hearing passing people yelling after him and asking if he was alright, seeing how battered he was. Steve didn’t care about his wounds.

What had I done, what had I done, what had I done…

***

“Pepper, you can’t fire Tony!!”

“Rhodey–”

“Remember who gave you the idea of a cat cafe after you had enough of working in corporations?!”

“Rhodey–”

“It was Tony!”

“Rhodey–”

“He introduced you to Happy! You can’t just fire him because there are two idiots following him around–”

“Rhodey–”

“He loves that place! It is like you broke his heart, why Pepper–”

“RHODEY!!!”

Rhodey shut his mouth. More in shock than anything, as Pepper rarely raised her voice. She took a deep breath before talking.

“I don’t like this as much as you, but I had no other choice. I can’t risk losing the trust of my customers, and what is even more important, I can’t risk any of the cats getting hurt! You know that cats like to hang out in that spot! One of them could get hurt!”

Rhodey kept his mouth shut. He couldn’t argue with that.

“Listen, I…” Pepper said, and Rhodey felt that she started to crumble. “I have to close the cafe for a few days to get a new window. In the meantime, talk with Tony and make sure that he pulls himself together. I can’t hire him again so soon, maybe in a month or two, when people will forget.”

That wasn’t great, but better than nothing. “Alright. Thanks,” he replied, coldly.

“Do you know if Tony has any savings?”

“It is Tony. Of course, he doesn’t,” Rhodey said impatiently, knowing that Tony might have some cash put aside for worse times, but getting his paycheck sooner won’t hurt, granted that he would be jobless for two months or so.

“I will make sure his paycheck gets cleared soon,” Pepper promised. “I have to relocate the cats somewhere before the window arrives. Do you think that Tony could temporary have one of the cats?” she asked.

Rhodey sighed. Pepper fired Tony, but the three of them were close friends since college. She was just looking after her business and he couldn’t blame her. “Sure. I will ask him.”

“Thank you,” Pepper said. “After I clean this mess, I will drop in for a visit, okay? See you soon.”

“Bye, Pep,” Rhodey said sadly and hang up. When everything turned so horribly wrong? He left the phone on the coffee table in the living room and entered the bedroom, where Tony curled into a little sad ball, silently crying his eyes out. Figaro sensed that his human was going through rough times and temporarily forgot about being mad about his house arrest and curled next to Tony, purring comfortingly.

“I talked with Pep,” Rhodey said, gently, sitting next to Tony. His heart ached, when he saw Tony curling more in himself.

“I know,” he sniffled in a weak voice, hearing Rhodey’s screams. “Does – does she hate me?”

“No! God, Tony, of course, no!” Rhodey quickly assured, rubbing his friend’s back, trying to soothe him.

“She should,” Tony sobbed out, a new wave of tears shaking his body.

“It wasn’t your fault, Tony,” Rhodey tried to reason, but by the way Tony shut his eyes and grimaced, and more tears flowed down his cheeks, he knew that Tony thought differently.

***

“Please be home, please be home, please be home…”

Bucky chanted under his nose, fighting with the stairs. He already checked in the bar, and didn’t find Steve there, so he assumed that he was home and now he had to climb like millions of stairs.

“Gahd,” Bucky wheezed, his legs burning, “stupid Steve, leaving in a stupid old building, with a stupid out of order elevator,” he continued to grumble, his strength slowly leaving him. When he finally made it, he leaned over the door to Steve’s apartment, breathing heavily, and trying to calm down his racing heart.

“Be inside, be inside, be inside,” he quietly wished, hoping that Steve fixed everything. He could even walk on Steve plowing his barista into the bed, and he would do a happy jig, instead of running in disgust. “Okay,” he took a calming breath and knocked on the door. “Yo, Steve!” he bellowed. No answer. One more time. Still, no answer. He experimentally tapped on the door knob and the door cracked open. Not very wise to leave the door open while having sexy times.

“Steve?” Bucky peered inside, a block of ice immediately falling into his stomach, when he saw Steve sitting on the couch with that face on. “Oh no…” Bucky said in a shuddered breath, walking inside, already knowing that utterly miserable look. “What happened? Did you guys broke up? Steve!” he gasped, noticing a band-aid on Steve’s cheek, a bruise on his jaw and knuckles wrapped in bandages, some blood coloring the white cloth. “What the hell happened?! Did he beat you up?” he asked, not believing that Tony could kick anyone’s ass. “Answer me, dammit!” Bucky scoffed impatiently, sitting next to Steve, forcing him to look at him.

When Steve did, panic rushed through Bucky. Steve’s eyes were empty. There was nothing in them. No anger, no sadness, no hurt… Just a hollow look. Steve was completely numb.

“What happened?” Bucky asked in a frightened whisper.

This time Steve was prepared. He didn’t trust his voice, so he ripped out a clean page from his notebook, from the very same one he took out a page to scribble his number on for Tony during their first date, and wrote six heartbreaking words.

Bucky took the page.

’He got fired because of me.’

Bucky didn’t say anything, just stared at the page in his hands. After a while, he slumped into the couch, running a hand through his hair.

“Fuck, Steve… What did you do?”

That summed up everything nicely.

***

The afternoon changed into an evening and Tony refused to leave the bed and Figaro firmly stayed by his side. Rhodey let him, knowing that Tony had to get out of the shock on his own pace. He was looking through the fridge, trying to decide what to cook for dinner, when he heard the phone ringing. He retreated to the living room and saw Tony’s phone flashing with a photo of the person Rhodey wished would never come near Tony again. He accepted the call, blood already boiling in him.

“You listen to me, Rogers, stay away from Tony or I will–” Rhodey hissed hatefully, talking in a hushed voice, so Tony couldn’t hear him. “ – who? No, you can’t speak with Tony,” he said firmly, going back to the kitchen. “And who are you?!” he asked, slowly losing patience. “I am Tony’s big brother,” came a quick, solid answer. “Why?” he gave the caller a minute to talk, before speaking again. “No,” another firm answer. “You will get 10 minutes of my time,” Rhodey hung up.

To be honest, he didn’t know why he agreed. But if he wanted to make it in time, he had to leave soon. He peeked into the bedroom, where Tony was still curled under the covers, hiding his face in Figaro’s fur.

“Tones… are you sleeping?” he asked carefully. Some movement under the covers told him that, no, he wasn’t. “I will leave for a bit, okay? I will be back soon,” no answer, just some more movement, and Rhodey took it as agreement. Before he could walk out, he heard Tony talking.

“Where are you going?”

Rhodey’s felt a tug in his heart at the miserable tone of Tony’s voice. He was hoping that his friend maybe fell to sleep, but seemed that he was crying the whole time.

“I am going to buy us some buffalo wings,” Rhodey smiled, telling half of the truth. “Remember, Tony? We used to eat them in college all the time,” he said, reminiscing the simpler years.

“Okay…” Tony agreed.

“Do you want anything else?” he asked, planning a trip to one of Tony’s favorite fast food places.

“No.”

“Okay,” Rhodey confirmed, walking out. He didn’t even make it to the door, when he Tony whined.

“Rhooodeeeyyy…”

“Yeah?”

“Can you buy me a milkshake? And a cheeseburger. With bacon. And fries. Two portions of fries. And two milkshakes.”

Rhodey smiled. “Sure, Tony. I will be back soon.”

Tony listened to the quiet surroundings, hearing a soft click of the door, when Rhodey walked out of the apartment. He tried not to, but another sob shook his body, and then Figaro turned his face to look at him.

“Hi,” Tony smiled tearfully, looking into his cat’s vivid green eyes. “Are you still mad at me?”

Figaro didn’t answer, instead, headbutted Tony’s forehead in affection.

He couldn’t help it, and Tony face twisted into a tearful grimace. “I am so sorry, Fig…” he sobbed out, before a new wave of crying engulfed him.

Figaro felt that something terrible has happened and didn’t leave Tony. He stayed with him, alarmed by the sad noises his human was making, wishing to do something to cease them. So, he stayed and purred, trying to comfort his friend in the best way he could.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Rhodey have a plan to make Tony and Steve met. Unfortunately, someone keeps following Tony around. WARNING!!! some strong language and temporary abusive situation near the end of the chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter officially marks 2/3 of the whole story! thank you for the kudos and comments!

As soon as he had left the apartment, Rhodey started to regret his decision for many reasons. First, approximately five minutes before he reached his destination, it started pouring like crazy and he didn’t have a hoodie or anything else for protection. Second, he didn’t want to talk with Steve’s friend about what happened between Steve and Tony. In his world, Steve didn’t deserve a second chance. Steve’s friend also didn’t deserve a chance, seeing that it was his stupid speeding years ago that started this wheel of misfortune, and the grand prize, a whole ton of misery, had all go to Tony.

Yet, Tony was miserable without that blond bastard. And if Rhodey could help, maybe even with just giving his friend an opportunity to close that sorry chapter of his life, he would do it. Then he could work on getting Tony’s job back. One thing at a time.

And then, when the balance would be seemingly restored, he would find Tony a new boyfriend. Someone nice, who would appreciate what a great guy he was. He stopped in front of the mall the other guy had proposed to meet, finally free of rain and waited. As he was standing and watching shops displays, Rhodey went through a list of the guys from his work, trying to decide who would be good enough for Tony. Peter was a fun guy and he and Tony had a shared taste in music, but he also knew that Quill was a flirt and chased everything that had two legs and wasn’t quick enough to escape, so he was out. His thoughts stopped on T'Challa, who was a guy from a good family, with a good background, and polite to everyone. And from good sources, he knew that T'Challa liked cats and that was an important thing to Tony. Yes, he would be a — Rhodey glanced at his wristwatch. The guy was getting late and Rhodey clenched his teeth in anger. Usually, he was a patient man, but this was pushing his buttons. He didn’t ask for this meeting. Rhodey leaned out from the dry safety the mall entrance provided and scanned the streets. It was slowly clearing up, yet there was no one on the street, as everyone had hidden away from the rain, except some homeless guy —

Wait, not homeless.

The guy crossed the street, getting closer and closer to Rhodey. He was wearing a baggy red jacket, and a cap, strands of soaked, dark hair hanging miserable around his face. The shabby style was intentional and it painfully contrasted with Rhodey’s clean cut, fitted leather jacket, and slacks.

“Hi,” the guy stopped in front of Rhodey, pulling his cap higher, showing bright blue eyes. “I am Bucky, we talked on the phone,” he said, extending his hand.

Out of courtesy, Rhodey shook it. “Rhodey.”

Bucky smirked, correctly guessing that they both went by nicknames, given by their best friends. Maybe they could find a common language after all.

Or maybe not, seeing as Rhodey’s face was all stone, bordering on hostility. Clearly, it was no time for diplomacy and beating around the bush.

“I think Tony and Steve should meet,” Bucky said in one breath. There were times in life when you had to take big leaps.

“No,” quick, solid answer. Bucky didn’t expect anything else. “Your friend ruined Tony’s life enough already,” that Bucky didn’t expect. Of course, that Rhodey blamed everything on Steve. Just like Bucky, secretly, blamed everything on Tony. Hey, look, they had more in common.

“Look,” Bucky started, biting his tongue to not say anything snarky, “I know, the situation is a mess. But I am sure, that Tony is suffering as much as Steve is.”

“Did Steve lose his job because of Tony?” Rhodey asked, eyes getting an angry look as soon as the words were spoken.

“Well, no,” Bucky said, not breaking eye contact, “but he is miserable. I don’t know if they will ever be an item again, but Steve at least could get a chance to apologize.”

“Giving Steve second chances doesn’t end well for Tony,” Rhodey hissed, images of his best friend, curled under the covers and crying his eyes out, vivid in his head. Tony’s heart was broken enough as it was. “Tell your friend that it is over, Tony is better without him. He screwed up.”

Bucky gritted his teeth. Of course, the guy was protecting the shrimp. But not only Tony’s heart was broken. The hollow look in Steve’s eyes would be haunting Bucky for a long time.

“It takes two to screw things up,” Bucky said, losing his patience.

“You’re right, it took you and Steve,” Rhodey pointed out mercilessly. Bucky’s blood froze. He knew that the other man meant two years ago when he didn’t notice the kitten on the street in time.

“Doesn’t help that your friend is a slut who kisses people behind Steve’s back–”

“What did you say?!”

Just like Bucky couldn’t control his words, the same Rhodey couldn’t stop the threatening step he took. The fight was in the air when they were interrupted.

“James?”

Both men turned around. A third person appeared, interrupting their meeting.

Sam quickly assessed the situation, sending questioning looks both to Rhodey and Bucky. Bucky’s breath was quickened and his chest was puffed out, while Rhodey’s teeth were still clenched in anger. Seemed that he showed up just in time.

“James, what’s going on?” Sam asked again, rustling the plastic bag with groceries he was holding in his right hand.

“Hi, Sam!” Bucky suddenly brightened, faking being cheerful. He was already having troubles with Steve, no need to drag his boyfriend into this mess. “I was just having a talk with my new friend–”

“I can see that,” Sam said, walking closer, focusing this time on Rhodey. “I didn’t know you two know each other.”

Rhodey looked at Sam and shrugged. “It is complicated.”

Bucky blinked in confusion. “Wait… You know each other?” he asked, not expecting this turn of events.

“Yeah, we work together,” Sam answered, laughing gently at Bucky’s still confused face. It was a small world after all. “What were you talking about?”

This time, both Bucky and Rhodey looked away. Just as Bucky seemed embarrassed, Rhodey’s angry look was back on.

“Oh, wait…” Sam was putting the pieces of the puzzle together. “You are…” he looked at Bucky, not needing to finish, “and you are,” he turned to Rhodey, and then sighed, finally understanding. Of course, he should have expected that, because his life couldn’t be easy.

“Okay, then how will we do it?” Sam asked, inviting himself into the mess. He had enough of hearing about Steve being miserable and having an asshole boyfriend when he was with Bucky, while at work, he kept hearing the exact same talks, just from Rhodey.

“Do what?” Bucky asked, looking back at his boyfriend.

“Get Tony and Steve back together,” Sam said as it should be obvious, “because this is what this meeting is about, right?”

“No,” Rhodey said, at the same time, as Bucky smiled and sang “of couuurse, this is what this is about!”, sending Rhodey a harsh look.

“Come on, Rhodey,” Sam smiled, trying to get his friend’s attention. “You told me that Tony is miserable without Steve.”

“Aha!” Bucky pointed a finger at Rhodey, happy with catching him on a lie. Rhodey batted the finger away with a growl.

“That was before he got Tony fired,” he hissed.

“He made a mistake,” Bucky said.

Rhodey opened his mouth, probably to say that his coming here was a mistake when Sam wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“Come on, Rhodes. Help out a brother,” he grinned cheekily.

Bucky thanked the angels for Sam, when Rhodey huffed a puff of air out, and reluctantly, agreed.

***

“Where are we going again?” Tony asked, dragging his feet behind him, obediently following Rhodey. To be honest, he didn’t have the strength to think for his own and just let his friend decide for him about everything.

“We are going to see my new apartment,” Rhodey answered patiently, trying to not give out how nervous he was. There were so many things that could go wrong and he would never forgive himself if he would add to his friend’s pain.

“Why do you need an apartment?” Tony asked miserably, as they were getting closer to the building.

“I told you, Tony, I can’t stay on your couch every night I come back to town,” Rhodey explained, his heart clenching at the way Tony sadly ducked his head down. Figures, even Rhodey had enough of him. Wonder when Fig would squeeze out of the window and leave him too.

“Stop it,” Rhodey said, bumping their shoulders together gently, “I will still visit you.”

“From Brooklyn? Why can’t you find a place in Manhattan?” Tony tried not too, but his voice got whiny.

“I can’t afford a place in Manhattan.”

“I can loan you some mo–”

“Tony, no,” it came out harsher than Rhodey planned, but Tony had to really start saving money. He couldn’t afford to be careless now. “Come on,” he took Tony’s hand, trying to cheer his friend up, “you will like it, it has a great view,” he lied, not knowing if it was true and guided them inside the building.

They took a short elevator ride and stopped on the second floor, as Rhodey didn’t want to tire Tony out. He took a turn left, just like he was instructed to do so, and stopped at the apartment 26, his fists becoming sweaty. It better worked.

“We are here,” Rhodey forced a cheerful note into his voice, and pushed the door open, “after you,” he invited Tony inside.

Not suspecting a thing, Tony walked in, set on already hating the apartment, just to keep his friend closer. “Does this place allow cats?” he asked, as soon as he put his foot on the carpet floor. Tony preferred wooden panels and rugs here and there.

“I didn’t ask.”

“You should, how me and Fig are supposed to visit you,” Tony continued to talk, walking through the apartment. He slowed down his steps when he started to notice all details. “Uh, Rhodey, you are going to rent this place with all furniture?” he asked, looking at the full cabinets, books and DVDs insides. There were a TV set, coffee table and a clearly shocked Steve sitting on the couch, staring at Tony in silent panic.

“What the–” Tony almost yelled, wincing at the sound of the door slamming behind him. “Rhodes!!” he yelled, darting back to the door, and wrestling with the door knob. “Rhodey, open this damn door!!”

“No!”

“The hell are you–”

“I am not letting you out until you clear things up with Steve!”

“The same goes to you, Steve!!”

Tony stopped wrestling with the door, trying to recognize the second voice. He gasped loudly, taking another quick look around the apartment and recognizing the red jacket on the hanger. “You traitor!!” Tony yelled, banging his fists on the door.

Unhelpfully, he heard Bucky laughing and Tony felt like kicking the door down. He might break his toes, but he needed to get out. He took a swing when he was stopped.

“Tony…”

Oh God, please, no.

Tony painfully closed his eyes. He didn’t want to talk with him. He didn’t want to see him. Why was Rhodey doing that to him?

“Pick-up artist.”

Tony froze in outrage. “What did you call me?!” he turned around, fire blazing in his eyes. After everything bad that happened in his life was connected to Steve, he has the nerve to insult him?

Steve was standing in the entrance to the living room, looking back at Tony with a sad face. “ _The Pick-up Artist_. Bucky keeps a spare key in the DVD case.”

Tony frowned, not understanding until Steve pointed to the cabinet with DVDs. Then they heard Bucky’s scream.

“Son of a–!!”

“You left the spare key inside?!”

“I forgot okay?! Don’t you dare to touch my stuff, punk!!”

Tony ignored the idiots on the other side, and the banging on the door that was supposed to get his attention. He walked past by Steve and found the mentioned DVD, and opened the case, ignoring the smiling couple on the cover. Then he made his way back and tried to put the key inside, but his hands were minimally shaking and the task became harder than he expected. He heard Bucky and Rhodey wrestling with the knob and holding it to themselves, not allowing Tony to push the door open after unlocking them.

“Shut up, shut up,” Tony hissed in anger, feeling emotions overpowering him. He just wanted to get out.

“Here.”

Tony froze when strong fingers gently took the key out of his and without any problem put it into the keyhole and unlocked the door. The commotion on the other side became much more frantic as both men started to scream for them to stay inside.

Inside the apartment, there was only silence, and Tony heard Steve stepping back, giving him back his space. Tony didn’t know what he expected, but definitely not this. Steve didn’t even try to explain himself. Instead, he was letting him go. That hurt.

“Okay,” Tony took in a shaky breath, turning around to face the other man. “Talk,” he ordered crossing hands on his chest.

Damn, those blue eyes. “Talk?” Steve repeated in a meek voice, not understanding the change.

“You asked me if we can talk,” Tony said in an impatient tone, referring to their meeting in the cafe, after Tony had left Steve in the middle of the street, “so, talk.”

For approximately three seconds, Steve didn’t say a word. The time stretched, and Tony almost turned around, ready to wrestle with the door again, when it started. Whatever he had expected, he didn’t expect this.

Steve completely lost it. He was talking quick and fast and gesticulating and his words were running into a one, incoherent, panicked mess. He didn’t even take breaks for breathing, voicing out everything he had to say and was not allowed to in the last weeks. Tony heard his name, Figaro’s name, a bunch of sorry and interestingly Stone’s name was appearing quite often.

“Tiberius? What about him?” Tony asked, interrupting the panicked babble.

Steve sucked in a breath, he didn’t allow himself earlier. “You and Stone. Dating,” he said, his already broken heartbreaking even into smaller pieces.

“What?! I am not dating Ty!” Tony scoffed.

“You are not?”

“NO! Why would you think that—” Tony hissed, stopping mid-sentence, realizing why Steve said that. The kiss. The kiss Tony didn’t want to happen and reacted too late. Steve had to see them. “It — it wasn’t my idea…” he said in a weak voice, looking away and breaking eye contact.

Maybe it was stupid, but Steve couldn’t control it and started to smile. Luckily, Tony wasn’t looking as for sure he would take it the wrong way. Tony and that idiot were not dating. They never were. It was great news.

“Tony,” Steve said softly, taking a step forward, feeling a rush of courage, “I want you back with me. You and Figaro,” he said. If Tony was dating that jerk, Steve would back away, not finding his place. But if they weren't… It was worth a shot. He already lost everything, and there was nothing more to lose.

Tony didn’t answer. He looked back at Steve, sadness clear on his face, showing in his brown eyes, and in the shape of his lips. He was hurt, Steve knew he had hurt Tony terribly.

“You lied to me,” Tony whispered.

“I know,” Steve admitted, not hesitating. “I am sorry.”

“I got fired because of you.”

“I am an idiot,” Steve agreed again, moving closer until there was only one, small step between them. He didn’t dare to cross that line. “I am so sorry.”

Tony cast his eyes down again. He was torn. Steve did break his heart and then stomped it. On the other hand, those two months with Steve were the happiest he had ever been. He didn’t know if the happiness they had was worth the pain he had been through. He didn’t want to be in pain anymore. He was a goner, when Steve gently touched his cheek, only with fingertips, trying to get his attention.

“Tony, please…”

Tony looked up, tears shining in his eyes. He didn’t want to suffer anymore. He didn’t want to dream about Steve, just to wake up in an empty bed. To go to his kitchen each morning, and look at that stupid blue mug with kittens on them, the one he bought for Steve after their first date and Steve’s teasing if he had mugs like that. Now he had a one, just for Steve, and every morning he wished he could take it and smash it into pieces, just like his heart was smashed and ran over by Bucky’s beetle car.

Steve didn’t say anything. He was looking back at Tony, and his eyes were equally sad, if not even sadder than Tony’s. Under a lot of sadness and regret, Tony saw something more. Love. Steve still loved him. He never stopped.

Tony closed his eyes, a single tear going down his cheek. It didn’t have a chance to fall down, as Steve gently brushed it off with his thumb. It was a simple touch, but it sent shivers down Tony’s spine. He missed those hands. He didn’t know when he leaned into the touch, fitting his cheek into the soft palm. It was calming and soothing and warm. Tony didn’t realize before that Steve’s touch was doing wonders for him. Despite everything he had been through, he felt safe. Felt that as long as he was with Steve, everything would be fine. And it was, until that one time, when some words were said too late while others were said too early, and then everything went downhill.

“You have to promise that you won’t ever again hide the truth from me… No matter how painful it might be,” Tony rasped out, more tears building in his eyes.

“I promise.”

If Steve said it right away, Tony wouldn’t believe him. He hesitated for a while and that’s how Tony knew he meant it. Lies come out smoothly, but the truth was harder to say and took a moment of reconsideration. Tony realized that it was how Ty always talked with him - never faltering, never pausing, always clean and precise answers. Smooth lies.

It was Steve who closed the distance. He leaned his forehead against Tony’s, moving his hand from barista’s cheek to his nape.

“I miss you.”

 _I miss you too_. Tony didn’t say it. Instead, his tipped his head up and pressed his lips over Steve’s.

It wasn’t great at first. Steve’s lips were zipped and uninviting, not because he didn’t want it, but out of shock. He smiled, remembering that Tony was always ahead of him. He first invited him to his house, first give him the keys to his apartment, and first said ’I love you’. Why wouldn’t he claim this first for himself too?

Tony felt a smile against his lips, but he didn’t have a chance to ask what it was about when Steve finally kissed him back. It was slow and sweet, easing the tension and healing the wounds in their hearts. Steve pulled Tony closer until their bodies were locked in place and they felt the familiar warmth and the beating heart of the other.

This was their apology. This was their new, fresh start. No words were needed.

“Tony?” gentle knocking on the door. “Is everything okay there?!” Rhodey asked, alarmed by the sudden silence.

Tony snorted into the kiss, moving his head away. He stayed in Steve’s arms and was smiling so brightly, it filled the whole cluttered apartment with happiness. Steve was smiling too, planning to never again let go of his barista.

“We are fine!” Tony called in the door direction.

There was some whispering when both men heard the word ’we’. Still, they needed clarification.

“Steve?!” Bucky called in question, having to make sure.

“We are fine,” Steve smiled, repeating after his, again, boyfriend, and Tony grinned cheekily.

“Oh, one more thing,” Tony said, minimally leaning out from Steve’s embrace and pushed a lamp off of the cabinet next to the couch, making it meet the floor with a beautiful, smashing sound.

“HEY!” Bucky cried against the wood. “What happened?!”

“That’s for running over my cat!” Tony yelled. It was small and petty but made him feel good.

Bucky grumbled. “Technically, if I didn’t do that, he wouldn’t be your ca—” he didn’t finish and yelped in pain. Tony smiled, knowing that it was Rhodey who socked the other man in the arm to silence him.

“Okay, you two can come out!” Rhodey decided, stepping away from the door. The worst part was behind them.

“Yeah, don’t even think about making out on my couch,” Bucky continued to grumble, massaging his sore arm after the punch.

Steve rolled his eyes dramatically, hearing the complaint, but it was Tony who laughed and wiggled out of his embrace. He darted to the door and locked it, leaving the key inside, blocking it. He turned to Steve with a teasing grin.

“Wanna make out on your friend’s couch?” he asked, eyes sparkling with humor.

“WHAT?!”

Steve hold back a laugh. “Sure.”

“WHAT?!?!”

Steve didn’t answer anymore, as suddenly his hands were full of Tony, and his lips got occupied. They purposely made themselves loud and obnoxious and truthfully, fell on the couch, making the springs squeak under their combined weight.

Rhodey started laughing, loud and clear, while Bucky went into a full panic mode.

“STEVE, YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!!” Bucky kept yelling, wrestling with his own door, “this is MY apartment!! Me and Sam didn’t even make out on the couch yet, get off, you assholes!! I am never helping you again, I swear to God—”

Tony and Steve didn’t hear anything, none of Bucky’s screaming and Rhodey’s laughter, muting out all their surroundings. They stayed on the couch, their bodies intertwined and they kept looking at the other with love and gentle smiles, seeing only each other. They were together again and it was the best feeling in the world.

The missing part of their heart was back.

***

Eventually, Steve and Tony had to leave the apartment. They walked out, holding hands and smiling happily and even when Bucky yelled at them, they still kept smiling. Nothing could ruin this day for them. Bucky had sprinted into his home, claiming that he was going to burn the couch, and although Steve was fearing the meeting with Rhodey, not only Tony’s best friend, but also his guardian as it seemed, it turned out that it wasn’t needed. Rhodey exchanged a few words with Tony and when he looked at Steve, he smiled. Deep down he knew, that Steve was the right man for Tony, and he was sure that he learned his lesson, and won’t ever again hurt his friend. And if he would… There was no wall that could stop an angry James Rhodes. Steve was aware of that, and he smiled back, grateful for another chance. Bucky, after finding out that his couch was intact, stuck his head out through the door, and asked if they all would keep standing in the corridor, or what, and that he can order a pizza for them all. Tony and Steve declined the offer, and Rhodey followed, as the three of them went outside the building.

“Hey, you can still stay at my place if you want to,” Tony told Rhodey, when the three of them walked down the sidewalk, his and Steve’s hands still together.

“Nah,” Rhodey smiled, “I will crash at Pepper’s for a change. You deserve some alone time.”

“We can go to Steve’s,” Tony looked at this boyfriend, “right?”

“Right,” Steve agreed, smiling gently, obviously in love.

“I already have plans with guys from work, so I wouldn’t be staying anyway. I will see you tomorrow!” Rhodey called, changing direction and heading to the subway.

Steve and Tony stopped, and Tony kept waving to his friend until Rhodey disappeared in the underground entrance. When they were alone, Steve let go of his boyfriend’s hand, and instead wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled close, looking down at Tony with a lustful smirk.

“My place or your place?” he whispered invitingly.

Slowly, Tony smiled back. He would love to go to Steve’s place and have him only for himself, not mentioning that from a logistic point of view it was closer. But there was another person waiting for Steve’s return.

“Mine,” Tony decided, receiving a confirming kiss.

***

“Fig, I am home!” Tony called as soon as he opened the door, kicking his boots off. “Guess who is with me!”

Steve chuckled, walking after Tony, also taking his shoes off. They heard a loud thud, as Figaro had to jump down one of the cat shelves and peeked his furry face into the corridor to see.

“Hi, Figgy!” Steve called, smiling at the vivid green eyes, scanning him curiously.

Figaro lightly trotted to Steve and did a complimentary zigzag around blond’s ankles, brushing his furry being against the material of the trousers, some brown fur already sticking to the denim.

“I missed you, buddy,” Steve cooed, kneeling down and petting the fluffy cat with both hands, running his hands along Figaro’s back. Figaro welcomed the touch with soft purring.

“Do you want something to drink?” Tony asked, walking into the kitchen, and turned the express machine on.

“Water will be fine, Tony!”

“Okay. I am getting coffee,” Tony said, and that didn’t surprise Steve in the slightest. He took Figaro in his arms and followed his boyfriend to the kitchen.

Tony cooed at the sight. Steve was tender and kind with Figaro, and that was warming his heart. He put a glass of water on the table and encouraged Steve to sit down, turning back to the machine. Steve gently put the purring cat down and stood behind Tony, pressing into him and kissing the nape in a nipping move.

“Ow. Steve…” Tony whispered, feeling goosebumps appearing on his skin.

“Yes, babe?” Steve asked, brushing his lips over the side of Tony’s neck.

Tony bit his lips, trying to surpass the giggle forming in his throat. He changed his mind and flicked the coffee machine off, and turned around, pulling Steve into a proper kiss.

Figaro blinked and walked out of the kitchen, resuming his position on one of the cat shelves in the living room. He closed his eyes, deciding to take a nap and not bother his friends for a while.

***

The next day was Saturday, and that meant sleeping till late, both for Tony and Figaro. Steve used to get up early, but this morning he decided to skip his usual jog and stay in bed. The occasion was worth it.

“I love you the most.”

“No, I love you the most.”

“I love you so much more.”

“I love you even more.”

“I love him more times infinity plus one!”

Steve’s mouth dropped before he laughed shortly and dramatically flopped on his back. “Oh no, I guess you won!” he admitted his defeat.

Tony grinned, stroking Figaro’s fur who had been stretched between them in the bed, resembling a long, furry pillow. “See? I told you I love you the most,” Tony said proudly, leaning down to nuzzle into Figaro’s fluffy head. Figaro closed his eyes contentedly, purring like crazy. His family was back and happy and it was all that mattered to him.

Steve rolled back on his side, and propped head on his hand, looking at Tony with a loving smile. He missed this. He missed wakening up next to his barista and being kicked during the night by him and wakening up with his mouth full of cat fur, as bizarre as it sounded.

“What?” Tony asked, noticing the look from the other man.

“I forgot how beautiful you look in the mornings,” Steve said in a soft voice, meaning every word.

Tony looked down shyly, some small, timid smile apparent on his lips. “Oh?” he knew that he looked like a total mess after wakening up, with a puffy face and hair in crazy locks, before he tamed them down with hair gel, “I think your judgment is askew.”

“May I remind you that I teach art, I know a beautiful thing, when I see a one,” Steve argued back.

“I thought that beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Tony played.

“It is, but there are also universal ideas of beauty,” Steve ended their silly exchange and leaned closer for more sweet and lazy kisses. Their morning couldn’t get any more perfect.

Knock, knock.

Tony frowned, reluctantly breaking the kiss. They both looked away and to where the sound was coming.

“Are you expecting anyone?” Steve asked Tony, raising his eyebrow up.

“No,” Tony shook his head, curls doing a little dance around his head. Adorable. “Oh, it is probably Rhodey.”

“Rhodey?”

“I think so, he left his things here, he is probably here to collect them. Or to check on you if you behave,” Tony joked, getting up.

“And did I behave?” Steve asked, staying in bed with Figaro.

“You were pretty naughty last night, so I don’t know,” Tony whispered in a sultry voice, pulling over himself Steve’s shirt, that was too big for him and covered him down to his butt. It was fine, it wasn’t anything Rhodey didn’t see before.

_KNOCK, KNOCK!_

“I am coming!” Tony called, smiling apologetically at Steve, as he went out. Steve urged him to go, not wanting Rhodey to bust in. One day he would earn his trust. For now, Steve sunk into the warm bed, planning to stay for a bit longer, his hand automatically reaching for Figaro and stroking his soft fur in swiping moves.

“Geez, Rhodes, why so impatient? Do you have to use the bathroom or somet– TY!!”

Ty? Steve immediately sat up on the bed, hearing Tony’s shocked scream and as someone barreled inside.

“Where were you?!”

“Ty— I— Ow! Stop!”

“I went to your work yesterday, you weren’t there! They kicked me out! You—!”

Steve didn’t hear much, panic and anger ringing in his ears. Tiberius was drunk. He was slurring words and screaming, and Steve had to move it. He had time to only pull his boxers on, before running to the living room. What he saw, made anger explode in him. Stone was holding Tony by the arm, not letting him escape, definitely invading brunet’s personal space. Tony’s eyes were wide and he looked absolutely terrified, not able to move away.

Tiberius bloodshot eyes went from Tony to Steve and then back to Tony. He bared his teeth in anger like a wild animal.

“You whore!!” he spat in Tony’s direction, understanding his clothing and taking a threatening swing. It wasn’t a fist, but an open palm.

That was too much. Steve didn’t think and threw himself at the drunk man, forcefully dragging him away from Tony.

“Stay back!” he ordered to his boyfriend. Instinctively, Tony took a step back, but he didn’t want to leave Steve alone with a potentially dangerous man.

“Steve, don’t–”

“Stay back!”

“You whore!! You dirty whore!!”

“Shut up!” Steve yelled, taking Tiberius by the clothes and pushing him out to the corridor.

“You will regret this, Tony!! I will make you regret this!!” Ty managed to yell out before he tripped over the doorstep and fell down on the floor. Steve stepped right after him and closed the door to save Tony any more scenes. Stone was quicker and reached to Steve’s throat, and with a corner of his eye, Steve saw another person jumping in his direction. Panic ran over him when he thought that Ty, as the coward he was, brought a buddy with himself, but then he tightened his fists, ready to fight. He could take down two people.

It wasn’t necessary, and the fist Steve thought was aimed at him, collided with Tiberius’s jaw, knocking him back on the floor. Steve stood in shock and saw Rhodey, looming over the drunk man, and pulling him up to his feet, twisting his hands to the back. Blood was trickling down Stone’s seemingly broken nose, and the pain temporarily blinded him.

“Go to Tony, I will take care of this scum,” Rhodey barked, looking beyond angry. He had to hear every word and see the whole encounter.

Steve took a step forward on the cold floor, ignoring the stinging in his bare feet. He wouldn’t leave a friend alone like that, there was no telling what Ty would do to get himself out.

“Go!” Rhodey said, and they both heard rushed footsteps, “I alerted the security of the building, you can go!”

Steve looked and saw two buffed men in black suits with a white ’security’ tags on their necks. Only then, he took a step back and walked back into the apartment, knowing that Rhodey had back up. He still heard some scuffling, as Ty tried to wrestle his way out and spat more insults and threats under Tony’s address. Steve tightened his fists, tempted to go back and knock Tiberius teeth out, but he also knew it wasn’t the time. When he entered, Tony stood up from the couch, holding Figaro in his arms, and there were tears glistening his eyes, some running down his cheeks.

Steve looked sadly at Tony. It was the third time he saw his beautiful boyfriend crying and it was a painful sight.

“Tony,” Steve said gently, walking to him. “Babe, did he hurt you?”

Tony shook his head, curls bouncing again around his head and more tears flowing. Tony had to lie because there was an ugly bruise blooming on his tanned skin, in the place Tiberius had grasped him. “I am so sorry,” Tony whispered, suppressed sobs making their way out and shaking his whole body.

“It is fine,” Steve wrapped his arms around his small boyfriend, letting him hide both in him and Figaro. “It wasn’t your fault, Tony,” he assured, kissing his barista’s temple soothingly, as Tony kept crying and crying.

***

They both stood at the window and watched Stone being escorted out of the building and throughout the gate by the security and forcefully pushed into a police car. Someone would spend the day and night in the drunk tank. Rhodey was there too, watching the scene, and didn’t leave until the car drove away. After a few minutes, they heard gentle knocking at the door, and this time they knew who it was.

Steve sat Tony on the couch, who was still shaken and hiding into Figaro, going to open the door. He and Rhodey exchanged knowing looks, before Rhodey rushed inside to check on Tony, who quickly cuddled into his best friend, apologizing some more. Rhodey said the same thing as Steve did.

“It is not your fault,” Rhodey whispered, petting Tony’s head, getting more sobs as an answer.

“You should see Rhodey out there,” Steve grinned, trying to get Tony’s mind on a different track, “he appeared out of nowhere and knuckled that asshole straight to the ground. I have never seen anything like that before.”

“I said I will punch him, remember, Tony?” Rhodey asked, proud that he finally achieved his goal.

Tony laughed, wiping some tears off. He also remembered Rhodey saying that he would punch someone else, but he was glad that didn’t happen.

“Sooo…” Rhodey said, leaning into the couch, “what are we having for breakfast?” he asked with a grin, inviting himself over. After all, he was back home.

Steve huffed out a laugh. He was dating Tony and he missed all the craziness it brought. “Pancakes?” he asked both men on the couch. They needed some comfort food and warm pancakes with fresh butter and sticky syrup sounded like the best thing in the world.

“Pancakes,” Tony confirmed with a tearful smile, petting Figaro’s fluffy head.

“And overpriced tuna for the kitty,” Steve reminded, going into the kitchen to prepare everything. Figaro, after hearing the word tuna, jumped off of the couch and trotted after Steve, Rhodey and Tony soon joining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. initially, Ty wasn't supposed to be such a big part of the story and was supposed to stay as a one time customer, but when I originally posted this story on tumblr, readers wanted to have him reappear and I listened. I am not regretting this decision, but I know it took the focus off cats, and soon we will be back on that, seeing that Tony and Steve are back together again!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve are a happy couple again, their friends are getting along and everything seems to be perfect. Until one day...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're gonna have a little flashback to the previous chapter here, guys. there is a lot of happy moments here, but also one sad thing that was necessary to lead to more happy things. Thanks for reading!

Steve was looking at the closed door, with a metal number 12 on them. It was a nice door, solid and painted white, but he wasn’t here to admire it.

“Tony?”

No answer. No sound on the other side.

“Tony, darling… Come on,” Steve asked in a low voice. He knew that Tony could hear him. He gently knocked. Once, twice, three times. He could almost imagine his boyfriend curling in fear on the other side.

All that was left, was to sigh. Since the incident with the asshole-who-shall-not-be-named Tony developed a fear of opening the door to his apartment or walking outside alone. Steve had noticed it for the first time, when a couple days ago, Tony said that he would take out the trash. His hand froze midway, inches before the knob, and his face set in silent panic. They took out the trash together. Since then, Tony always waited for Steve or Rhodey, or really anyone, to let him out of his apartment, never going out alone. It became so bad, that Tony was nervously flinching and looking like a scared animal, each time he heard his neighbors coming back or out of their homes. Steve understood that it was a traumatic experience, but he didn’t want fear to control the other man.

“Babe…” Steve pressed his cheek to the white wood. “I know you are there. It is me. You are safe.”

Steve heard a soft sound, as someone walked to the door. His heart fluttered hopefully when he thought that it was the moment. The moment didn’t come, and instead, he clearly heard as Tony took a step back, memories flooding back and paralyzing him again.

“Tony? It is me, Steve. Come on, babe, let me in.”

A long, miserable sigh. “Do I have to?”

Steve smiled sadly. “No,” he assured. If it was too difficult, he wouldn’t force his boyfriend. “But it would be nice if you tried to.”

That wasn’t fair. It took another long moment before Tony reached for the knob, and slowly, inch by inch pushed the door open. Steve smiled at his boyfriend’s suspicious face peering through the widening gap until they could see each other fully.

“Hi,” Steve beamed, so very proud.

“Hi,” Tony replied, sounding and looking in pain.

Steve took Tony’s hand and pulled him to himself and into the corridor. “See? Everything is fine—”

“EEEEEEEEEEEAAAAH!!!”

Tony wheezed and yanked his hand away from the gentle hold, jumping back into the apartment. He didn’t make it far, when he was pulled into a hug and someone danced around him, squealing more in wild excitement. Steve tensed and almost took a swing to knock down whoever assaulted his barista before he recognized the whirlwind of black and yellow clothes and twirling brown hair.

“TONY!!!” Janet shouted out, holding the shocked brunet close, pressing their cheeks together in an over-friendly gesture. “I missed you!! And the cats missed you!! And I missed you!! And Bruce missed you!! And I missed you—!!”

“Jan,” Tony croaked out, Jan’s affectionate hold around his neck, choking him a bit. “Jan, air—”

“Sorry!” the girl laughed cheerfully, slightly loosening her hold. She was just too happy not to cuddle her long time no seen best friend to death.

Steve chuckled quietly at the heartwarming sight. That pointed Janet’s attention to him.

“STEVE!” she called her expression brightening again. Jan was known for not hiding her negative feelings towards the asshole-who-shall-not-be-named and favoring Steve. She was happy to see them back together.

“Hi Jan,” Steve greeted her, seeing Jan jumping in his direction with extended hands and getting ready for his own portion of affection. Instead, the air was knocked out of him when Janet put a headlock on him and pressed her forearm against his throat, keeping him bent and unable to move.

“You see those claws?!” she called in anger, putting a clawed hand in front of Steve’s face. Steve blinked at the short trimmed, yellow painted nails. “Okay, they are short now, cafe policy,” she rambled quickly, explaining her non-threatening look, “but, if you screw up with Tony again! I am going to hurt you!” she threatened, tightening her grasp for good measure.

“Yes, ma'am,” Steve choked out, not in a position to argue. Still, it was endearing how very protective all of Tony’s friends were and Steve was happy for his boyfriend.

“I am gonna give you a preview.”

Steve’s mouth dropped open when yellow nails got quickly and dangerously close to his face. Just when he thought that his eyeballs would be scratched out, the hand changed its direction and slid under him, digging into his muscled stomach.

“HEY!” was all Steve managed to cry out, before helpless laughter took over him, five fingers scribbling over his shirt in a chaotic pattern. “HAHAHAHAA!! JAN NO!!”

“Don’t ever hurt Tony again, got it?!” Jan called, trying to yell louder than Steve was laughing, her face stretched in mischief and happiness.

“I GOT IT!! I GOT IT!! HAHAHA!!”

“I remember when she used to do that to me.”

The tickling stopped and Steve sucked in a greedy breath. Janet looked over at Tony who was the one who said the earlier comment.

“Aww, did you miss it?” she called, abruptly letting go of her victim, and putting hands in the air, fingers wiggling.

Steve, massaging his neck from the earlier assault, exactly saw the moment Tony’s whole body tensed in panic and his eyes widened.

“No, I didn’t!” he shrilled out, but Jan already took a step in his direction. “NO, I DIDN’T!!” Tony continued to shriek, running back into his apartment, followed by roaring Janet.

Steve laughed to himself, hearing both brunets wrestling on the couch, before Tony’s frantic laughter started to pour into the corridor. It was a beautiful sound.

“Hah, seems that Jan already found Tony.”

“Hi!” Steve turned with a smile in the direction the voice came. He saw Rhodey, Pepper and, surprisingly, Natasha, coming in his direction, Rhodey already smiling at him, Natasha and Pepper engrossed in a conversation. It was high time for their guests to start to show up, as Tony and Steve decided to do a mini movie marathon for their friends. Their lives finally calmed down and got back on the right track, and it was a perfect weekend to hang out with friends.

“Hi, Steve, what’s up?” Rhodey asked friendly, three of them stopping for a chat, seemingly oblivious to Tony’s panicked laughter and Jan’s malicious one coming out from the inside of the apartment.

“Everything’s fine,” Steve replied truthfully, knowing that Rhodey just had to check if everything was okay between him and his best friend. “Hi, Nat, glad you could come,” he smiled at Natasha, unsure to the very last moment if his friend would show up.

“Sometimes grading has to wait,” Natasha said in a pleasant voice, showing Steve a bag she brought with herself. “Bought some popcorn on my way here. Can’t have a movie viewing without popcorn.”

“Did you decide on the movie?” Rhodey asked Steve.

Steve didn’t have an occasion to answer, as a call for help came from inside the apartment.

“RHOOHEHEDEY!! HEHEHELP!!”

Steve snorted and the girls shared an amused look. Rhodey looked dramatically at the ceiling.

“Fine, I will help,” Rhodey grumbled, walking past Steve. There was some mischievous note in his voice and soon everything became clear.

“Heard you need help.”

“Sure! Just hold him here and—”

“NO!! HELP ME NOT HEHEHEHER!! HAHAHA!!”

“That might take a while,” Steve smiled at the girls, “come on in,” he made room for them to enter. Natasha went in first, which was fortunate, as Steve stopped Pepper, keeping her in a hallway for a bit longer. “Pepper, can we talk?” he asked in a timid voice. It was his first encounter with the girl after the unfortunate events that took place in her cafe. He was nervous, but he had a feeling that it was the right thing to do.

Pepper stopped and send the nervously looking blond a calculating look. Then she sighed sadly. “I had a feeling you might ask about this.”

“You did?”

“Yes. About Tony, right?” she continued, and Steve stared owlishly for a moment, not understanding. “I know you look out for him, but I already said it, when everything calms down, Tony will always have a spot in the cafe, just now I can’t hire him back—”

“Wait, this isn’t about this,” Steve interrupted. Of course, he wanted his boyfriend to get his job back, but he also knew that that was solely Pepper’s and Tony’s decision, and an agreement between them. He had his own record to fix. “I wanted to apologize,” he said, casting his eyes down.

Pepper didn’t say anything, and he took it as a permission to continue.

“I am sorry that I let my emotions take over me and destroyed part of your cafe. I promise to repay you for the damage I did.”

It took another long moment before Pepper spoke, not expecting to hear that. “Oh, Steve,” she said, and her voice became a lot warmer, “you really don’t have to worry about this. Insurance covered everything.”

“Oh…” Steve rubbed the back of his neck. He should have expected that. “Still, I feel terrible. If there is anything I can do— maybe you need a handyman? I am quite good at home repairs, not as good as Tony is though, but if there is anything I can do—”

“Cat litter.”

“Sorry?” Steve finally looked up, his eyes meeting Pepper’s face and a gentle smile.

“Cat litter,” she repeated, “and new toys. We can always use more at the cafe,” she hinted.

Steve smiled and nodded enthusiastically. It was a small price in comparison to the damage he had done. “Sure. Can I bring it on Monday?” he asked, planning to buy the biggest cat litter bag he could carry and the most colorful toys.

“Cats will be waiting,” Pepper agreed.

There was one more thing Steve wanted to ask.

“Oh, and can — umm,” he faltered again. It was a painful topic and he wasn’t sure if it was his place to ask. it probably wasn’t.

Pepper put her hand on Steve’s shoulder in a soothing gesture. “Yes, you and Tony can still come to the cafe,” she said, lifting the ban unofficially imposed on Steve by Happy.

Steve smiled, bright and real. It was a relief to know that he was still welcomed in the cafe and that the day Tony would get his job back, he could still visit them. Exchanging last smiles, Pepper entered the apartment, where the laughter had already ended and was replaced with some conversation and friendly arguing over movies.

Steve looked at his wristwatch. They told their guests to come around 4 pm, and seemingly everyone showed up already, except one person. Just then, he heard frantic footsteps and saw someone in the distance.

“BUCK!!” Steve called, spotting his friend, crossing the corridor and going in a wrong direction, dark hair swooping behind him. There was a squeaky sound of rubber soles halting on the slippery floor, and Bucky peeked from around the corner.

“Oh, hey!” he called to Steve, retracing his steps. “Man, this place is huge! Your boyfriend must be loaded!” Bucky yelled, not caring to use an indoor voice.

There was some stunned silence in the apartment, and Steve heavily blushed. Bucky had to always embarrass him. The silence soon changed into collective laughter and teasing, with a background note of Tony’s grumbling.

“Glad you could make it,” Steve smiled at his friend in his trademark cap and red jacket. Tony often claimed that Bucky looked like a homeless person, and Steve never saw it until now, where his friend’s intentional shabby look, painfully contrasted with the white walls and potted plants around them.

“You know I never say no to free food and movies,” Bucky laughed.

“So, is he coming?” Steve asked, trying to sound nonchalant and not invasive.

“I was wondering when you will ask,” Bucky teased, surprised that it wasn’t Steve’s first question after seeing him. “Nah, he is working today,” he answered and entered the apartment, Steve closely following.

“Working?” Steve repeated. “Are you sure you don’t have an imaginary boyfriend?” he asked in a teasing tone. He only heard about Sam, but never saw him.

“Who is imaginary?” Rhodey cut in from the couch, simultaneously waving to Bucky. He, Jan and Pepper were squeezed together on the couch, petting in unison Figaro, who had spread over their laps, having to be sure that every person got an equal amount of cat and enough cat fur on their clothes to remember him for long weeks. Natasha took an armchair for herself and by the fur on her pant legs, one could tell that she was on the receiving end of Figaro’s complimentary zig zag around the ankles.

“My boyfriend, Sam,” Bucky answered and introduced himself to Natasha and said hi to the rest of the gang he knew from the cafe.

“Oh, Sam. Yeah, never heard of the guy,” Rhodey drew his eyebrows together, choosing to play along with Steve.

“What?! You know him, you work together! And you know Sam too, I bring him to the cafe all the time!” he said, turning to Jan for support.

Janet brightened, remembering the two love birds in a very romantic setting, over a coffee, surrounded by loving cats. Well, at least in her opinion it was a very romantic setting. “No, never saw him,” she assured with a smile. “Pep, do we know any Sam?” she asked her friend.

Pepper laughed. “No, we don’t. Bucky always comes alone.”

“I can see you are Tony’s friends,” Bucky play grumbled to the general mirth of everyone gathered. Speaking of Tony, Steve scanned the living room and didn’t see his boyfriend.

“Hey, where is Tony?” he called in the general direction of the chitchatting group.

“In the kitchen! He is making coffee for everyone,” Jan answered, petting Figaro’s furry head and scrubbing him under his chin, just at the small, white dot, that didn’t fit with the rest of him but gave him a unique look.

Steve nodded his thanks and followed the smell of the freshly brewed coffee. He entered the kitchen and saw his boyfriend operating the huge express machine as the pro he was.

“Steve, can you take out the sandwiches from the fridge?” Tony asked, hearing the other man behind him.

“How did you know it was me?” Steve asked, making his way to the fridge and opening it with a quiet click.

Tony laughed to himself but didn’t answer, not willing to share his secret away. He made a pleased sound when Steve wrapped his hands around him from behind in a loving hug.

“Are you done?” he asked, noticing the cups filled with Tony’s favorite beverage.

“Almost. Do you want coffee too? Just get your blue mug.”

“What? I can’t drink from a white mug like everyone else?” he asked with a smirk, already reaching his hand to the cabinet above Tony’s head to take out his mug with kittens painted on.

“Maybe when you get older you can drink from adult mugs,” Tony teased. “Are we waiting for someone else?”

“My guests all are here,” Steve smiled. “Yours?”

“Bruce couldn’t make it. He studies on weekends in the evening school.”

“What does he study?”

“He wants to be a veterinarian. Anyway, too bad he couldn’t make it, I think he and your friend would be a perfect match.”

“Who?” Steve asked, blinking in confusion. “Natasha?”

“No, Bucky,” Tony answered sarcastically, and flicked Steve on the nose, “of course, that Natasha.”

“You think so?” Steve frowned, not seeing them together. Natasha was fierce and strong and determined. Bruce seemed like a calm, shy type.

“You would be surprised.”

“Hey! Is the coffee ready?” Jan peeked into the kitchen, brightening and not bothered by the sight of Steve and Tony wrapped in an embrace. If anything, she seemed pleased that they were affectionate with each other, and she would be the first to give Steve a hard time if he wouldn’t appreciate her best friend. “Oh, by the way, Steve, is Nat taken? She would be perfect for Bruce,” she said, almost buzzing with excitement, a plan for romance forming in her head.

“What?” Steve turned around to look at Jan, but Tony was already slapping him on the shoulder in a victory.

“Told you!!”

“Where is the food?!” Bucky bellowed, entering the kitchen. “Hey, Tony,” he said granting the brunet with a half second of attention, before turning around. “Oh, there it is,” he helped himself to a sandwich. “Hey, Steve, is Nat taken?” he asked around a mouthful of bread.

Steve blinked rapidly. Was Natasha emitting some pheromones or what? “Why do you ask?” he eyed his friend.

“She is my type,” Bucky answered with a grin, somehow lucky enough that pesto didn’t leave green traces on his teeth.

Janet and Tony exchanged quick looks. Oh, no he didn’t.

“WE SAW HER FIRST!!” Jan shouted, pushing the sandwich deeper into Bucky’s mouth, making him choke. It was a second of advantage she needed and she ran back into the living room, Tony following, abandoning his coffee station.

“You have a boyfriend!” Steve pointed out to Bucky, but it got lost in the screaming and running as Bucky, slapping his chest to get the crumbs out of his throat, went on a chase after both brunets. “Shit!” he cursed when he noticed that in the commotion Tony poured coffee into the same cup twice and as a result, hot liquid spilled all over the counter, forming majestic puddles.

When he managed to tame the chaos and entered the living room with a tray full of cups with coffee, a small group was already flocking around amused Natasha.

“As I am flattered by all this,” she said calmly, keeping her hands in a soothing position, “I am already in a relationship.”

The people surrounding Natasha clearly deflated after hearing the news.

“You have a boyfriend?!” Steve called, putting the tray down on the glass table in front of the TV. Seemed that he didn’t know anything about his friends.

“Hey, don’t act so surprised,” Natasha narrowed her eyes, slightly offended. She was a hardass, but had a softer side.

“I am sorry I just—” Steve rambled, saved by Janet.

“Are you up for a threesome then?” she asked with a bright smile, determined to help Bruce met the woman of his dreams.

Turned out that Jan didn’t save him at all.

Chaos started all over again, and it was loud and cheerful and good. Only Figaro, after donating enough of fur to his furless friends, trotted to the bedroom for a nap. Humans could be loud and annoying and he needed his beauty sleep.

***

It was near midnight, when Steve was in Tony’s bathroom, steadily brushing his teeth. It was funny, how everything smelled of coffee, even in the bathroom, yet, the toothpaste was ordinary mint flavor. Steve was sure that if they made toothpaste that tasted like coffee, Tony would order truckloads of it.

The party was a success and their mixed groups of friends got along spectacularly well. After the rough month, it was a nice change to have everything be so nice and chaotic in a good way. Steve knew that Tony missed his job and being around cats and his friends, and he still didn’t tell him the good news. He spat the foam out and wiped his face, getting ready for bed after a very happy, but exhausting day.

When Steve entered the bedroom, there was only a quiet sound of Tony clicking on the phone, clearly texting.

“What are you doing?” Steve asked, lifting the covers up to get to bed.

“Texting Rhodey,” brunet replied with a yawn, not stopping his activity and yet somehow managing to cuddle into Steve’s side perfectly. “He is sleeping at Jan’s today. He really needs an apartment of his own,” Tony giggled. Of course, Tony had offered Rhodey his couch, seeing that the bed was taken by him and Steve, but Rhodey politely declined the offer. He would have to share the couch with Figaro at some point, as the cat liked to change places, before finally setting in the master bedroom with Tony. Let the cat sleep on Tony’s face, and not his. “Done,” Tony smiled, sending the text and putting his phone away to cuddle properly to Steve’s warm chest. He was sleepy and adorable, and Steve couldn’t help but kiss the top of the brown hair. He hoped that meeting with his friends would calm down Tony’s heart and help erase the bad memories.

“Hey, do we have any plans for tomorrow?” Steve asked, letting his fingertips travel over the bare curve of his boyfriend’s arm.

“Hmmmm, nope. Although, you may need to go back to Brooklyn for a change of clothes,” Tony laughed, his warm breath puffing on Steve’s chest. Not that Steve was a slob, but he walked a day too long in the same creased t-shirt, and even if Tony wanted to lend him some clothes, all his shirts were too small for Steve’s expansive chest.

“Can do that,” Steve nodded, agreeing with the plan. “And you could come with me and we could go to a pet store.”

“Pet store? Why?” Tony asked, and Steve felt lucky when his boyfriend look up at him, just so he could see the change in brunet’s expressive eyes.

“I talked with Pepper and we are going to visits cats at the cafe on Monday. Just have to bring them treats,” he said, leaving the part that toys and litter were, in fact, his apology gift. Tony was smart, he would figure it out on his own anyway.

As expected, Tony’s big eyes widened even more and soon a happy shrill made its way out of his throat. “I am going to see my babies!!” Tony exclaimed, standing up on the bed, and bouncing in excitement. He missed the cafe, but it felt inappropriate to go there, without clear permission from Pepper.

“Hey, calm down!” Steve laughed as Tony in all his joy started to kick the pillows and covers down. “Tony!” he tried again, grabbing the over excited brunet by the waistband and, truthfully attempting to pull his boyfriend down, but instead almost pulled the briefs all the way down to Tony’s knees.

Tony laughed, following his underwear and sinking on his knees, smiling from ear to ear. “We need to buy toy mice, fishes on a pole, and those rubbery balls cats can chase around—”

“Really?” Steve asked, interrupting the list. “This is what you think about after I pulled your pants down?” he complained, playfully offended.

With a nice purr, Tony crawled closer to Steve, eyes half-lidded and dreamy. Steve understood and pulled his boyfriend closer. He turned the lights off, calling it a day, and hoping that Figaro could sleep on the couch for a bit longer.

***

Sunday quickly passed in a mix of visiting pet stores and a brief visit to Steve’s apartment. When Monday came, Steve had kissed sleeping Tony goodbye and poured some cat nibbles into Figaro’s bowl, hoping that the furry monster would allow his friend to sleep a bit longer, and left to work. When he came back early afternoon, Tony was already waiting and bouncing impatiently, ready to go out, barely allowing Steve to slurp down his soup and eat a sandwich for lunch.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take Figaro?” Steve asked, locking the door behind them.

“I am sure,” Tony smiled. A visit to the cafe would just confuse Figaro, who did miss his two-legged and four-legged friends. It was better if the first visit was only them. “Besides, I don’t have any free hands,” Tony laughed, lifting two bags, one in each hand, filled to the brim with various cat toys and packets of treats.

“Alright then,” Steve said, putting the key in his pocket and with a grunt lifting up the biggest bag of cat litter he could find, followed by a bag of dry cat food. Altogether, he was carrying almost 60 pounds and spend more than his monthly salary, but he had a deed to repay. Tony’s love-filled look was an added bonus.

The Meow Cafe was just a few blocks from Tony’s place. By foot, it was a thirty-minute stroll. After five minutes, Steve’s biceps started to ache. After ten minutes, there was some burning. Fifteen minutes later and halfway there and his back started to ache.

“Are you sure you don’t want to order a taxi?” Tony asked with concern, carrying much less weight with himself and getting alarmed by the sweat forming on Steve’s temple.

“No, I got this,” the stubborn blond said through clenched teeth.

“At least let me help you—” Tony said gently, trying to grab a handle from the food bag, but Steve swerved away, almost knocking himself over and into the bushes under the weight.

“No, I am fine,” Steve assured in a grunt.

Tony rolled his eyes dramatically. Ah, so it was a matter of honor. “You really don’t have to punish yourself like that.”

“I am fine,” Steve repeated, his tone waging on snappy.

“Ohoho,” Tony laughed sarcastically, “alright, you are fine, Hercules.”

Steve didn’t answer, deciding to conserve his energy and Tony smirked, taking his boyfriend’s silence as a win. Just a few more blocks…

“Hey, what is that?” Tony asked with a frown, looking at the distance. Steve’s eyes followed and he saw clouds of black smoke curling in the air, streaming from one point.

Then the air was cut with a harsh sound of a fire truck speeding on alarm and cars coming to a halt to clear the way. They both watched the red truck go past them, not thinking much about it until the truck turned into an alley and followed the road they both were meaning to take.

“Huh?” Steve heard a rattle when two bags with toys and treats met the ground. The next second, he saw Tony, running as fast as he could, following the fire truck. “TONY!!” Steve yelled but was ignored. It was probably nothing. This was New York, what were the chances—

He couldn’t take any chances. Regretfully, Steve chucked down the bags, knowing that it would be impossible to run with them, and went after Tony. Hopefully, when they come back, their belongings would still wait for them, and it was just all a huge mistake.

It wasn’t, and when Steve crossed the street and stopped, his heart raced up to his throat.

It was a nightmare.

The Meow Cafe was on fire. It was a high flame, reaching its peak and consuming everything, crackling maliciously and filling the air with smoke. The firefighters were just setting up their equipment, but there was no telling if they could control the unfolding tragedy.

Steve looked frantically around, spotting Bruce and Jan far away from the flame on a patch of grass, Janet running from one cat carrier to another, checking on cats and calming them down, while Bruce was sitting at one carrier, checking cats’ well-being and if they were not injured. Pepper was closer to the flame, but in a distance, firefighters had sent her to. Steve couldn’t see her as she was turned around, facing the flame, while Tony was in front of her, with hands on her shoulders.

“What happened?!” he kept calling, trying to get an answer out of his former boss, but she was completely unresponsive, watching the flame consuming her life savings, her job, her dream. People started to gather and stop on the street, witnessing yet another tragedy of Meow Cafe in such short period of time.

Steve didn’t know what to do, feeling lost among the horror. He looked from Jan and Bruce to Tony and Pepper, not knowing to who go first.

“STEVE!” Janet called, spotting the blond. He didn’t hesitate and made his way to the girl.

“Jan! What happened?! Are the cats alright, do you need help?” he asked, looking from her to Bruce, who was completely focused on his task, attending the curling in fear cats.

“I don’t know,” Jan answered in a shaking voice, and Steve saw nail marks she imprinted into her own cheeks out of worry and some scratches on her hands and arms while she had to get all cats into carriers. “I don’t know, Steve! We barely made it out and the cats were so scared, I was chasing them around trying to find them all—-”

“It will be alright!” Steve assured Jan, trying to believe his own words, and pulling her into a short hug for even a bit of comfort. With Jan still in his arms, he looked over his shoulder, trying to find Tony.

“Tony, we have to help them!” he called before he could find Tony, letting his voice reach him first. He didn’t know how, but he knew that they could not leave their friends. “Tony?!” he yelled again when he found his boyfriend and his heart clenched.

Tony was completely paralyzed. His eyes were focused on the tragedy in front of him, and his breath was uneven and ragged. His lips were moving quickly and he was saying something quietly and Steve quickly figured out the words.

’ _It’s my fault._ ’

“Tony!”

Sensing another tragedy, Jan gently left Steve’s embrace, allowing him to leap to Tony. Steve did just that and soon was in front of his shocked boyfriend.

“Tony! Tony, look at me!” Steve urged, putting his hands on brunet’s arms, trying to get to him through the chanting and sound of fire.

“It’s my fault, it’s my fault, it’s my fault,” Tony kept repeating, louder and louder, until he practically started to scream the words out, tears streaming down his face. “It is my fault, Steve!! He said he will make me regret!!”

First, Steve didn’t understand. His blood turned cold when he realized what Tony meant.

’ _You whore!! You dirty whore!!_ ’

Words echoed in his head, twisting his stomach.

’ _You will regret this, Tony!! I will make you regret this!!_ ’

No one could be that cruel.

“TONY!” Steve yelled out, taking Tony’s face in both hands and wiping the tears off, replacing the image of broken dreams with his own face. “It is NOT your fault,” he said with all might. The heart-wrenching sob tumbling out from Tony’s lips denied everything, and Steve pressed his boyfriend close and hid him away from the horror around them.

Just then a new horror started.

“One, two, three, four, five… One, two, three, four, five!! Oliver, Oliver, move, sweetheart, please, please, no, no NO NO!!” Janet cried, finding Pepper and yelling to her. “Tsuki is not here!!”

Steve’s breath stopped and he could feel Tony’s heart do the same. The fluffy Siamese cat. She was left in the flaming building.

It seemed that nothing could get a reaction out of Pepper, but after hearing the words, the seemingly fragile woman, darted forward, ready to leap into the flames, just to be stopped by a firefighter.

“Ma'am, you can’t go there,” the burly man replied, holding the struggling redhead, trying to claw her way out. “Ma'am, calm down! We have it under control!”

Steve heard his heart pounding in his ears. He looked from frantic Pepper trying to knock out a firefighter, to Jan who held a hand pressed to her mouth, tears shining in her eyes, to Bruce still busy with cats and ending on Tony who was pale and terrified.

Someone had to do something.

Steve let Tony out of his arms and turned around, facing the flame. It was a quick decision, and he was ready to barge into the flaming building, but he was stopped.

“No,” Tony whispered, grabbing Steve by the back of his shirt to wrap arms around blond’s waist tightly. “You can’t!”

“Tony, let go of me!” Steve tried to pry Tony’s hands away. He had to try. The firefighters were busy with taming the flame, and every second mattered.

“You can’t go there!!” Tony cried, holding his boyfriend away with all strength he had, voice laced with true desperation. Steve’s heart was breaking.

“But—” his breath became short, and he wasn’t sure if it was panic or smoke making its way into his lungs, seemingly choking him. “HEY!!” he yelled in the firefighters’ direction. “THERE IS A CAT LEFT INSIDE!!”

“WHAT?!”

It wasn’t a firefighter. Steve saw someone running past by him and saw a homeless guy making his way between the firefighters and jumping into the flames—

Not homeless.

“Bucky,” Steve whispered breathlessly, recognizing the red jacket and a mess of medium length brown hair sticking out from under a cap. Pepper slumped in firefighter’s arms, strength leaving her at such turn of the events. Steve felt Tony’s hold loosening around him. Tony was giving him a choice. Just like Bucky made his choice. Steve tightened Tony’s hands back around himself and looked away from the flame, not daring to watch.

“JAMES!!” another person cried and Steve saw someone stopping next to him, out of breath after a long run. It was a medium built, dark-skinned man with dark eyes, looking completely terrified.

Something clicked in Steve’s brain. He eyed the man, trying to urge him to eye contact.

“Are you Sam?” he asked, fate choosing the worst possible time to make them meet.

Sam looked at the blond next to him, and the small, clinging brunet stuck to his back. He looked at Steve’s face. “Nice to meet you, Steve,” he breathed out, panic and worry clear in his voice.

The interaction came to a stop, when the fire crackled loudly and there was a sound of glass shattering. When Steve looked back at the cafe, he saw two firemen, holding Bucky and helping him to stand up after he had jumped out through a window and walking him away from the flame. His hair was smoking and he was coughing but held in his arms a small bundle, wrapped in his red jacket.

“Bruce!!” Janet called in a broken voice and both Bruce and Sam leaped to Bucky, Bruce taking the passed out cat from Bucky’s arms, while Sam was trying to get to his boyfriend.

“Give him some room to breathe, son,” a firefighter said, sitting Bucky down at the step to the firetruck. Bruce already trotted away to take care of Tsuki, while the fireman who were not attending the flame, took care of Bucky and Pepper.

“Hey,” Bucky croaked out, smiling weakly at Sam, wrapped in a blanket handed to him by one of the firemen, “be happy, now I have to cut my hair,” he tried to joke, meaning the burnt ends of his hair. Sam didn’t reply, just slapped him on the side of his head and then pressed their foreheads together in a tender gesture.

***

The whole crew of Meow Cafe and their friends, stayed till the very end, till the last flame was gone. They were crowding on the grass, sitting together, surrounded by cat carriers. Pepper was holding in her arms awake Tsuki, the cat they nearly lost, cuddling her and not allowing anyone to take her out of her arms. She didn’t say a word since the fire started and it didn’t look like if she would speak anytime soon, the shock too big to handle at once. Steve talked to the fireman and found out that everything was lost in the flames. Pepper would have to start from a scratch, and even if insurance money would help, there was no quick recovery from such traumatic event.

“Is it bad?” Bucky asked Steve, when fireman drove away, securing what was left of the building.

Steve looked at the crowd on the grass. At the cats, still confined in the carriers, shaking Pepper and grieving Bruce, Tony and Janet. When everything managed to go so wrong? He nodded to his friend, not ready to break the news to Pepper yet. Just then, Tony stood up and walked to Bucky and Steve.

“We are going to our place, it is the closest,” Tony decided for the whole group, trying to keep his voice strong, although it wavered at the last notes. There was no point in sitting on the grass until nightfall. “Are you by car?” he turned to Bucky, getting a confirming nod. “Can you take Pepper with you? I don’t think she can walk now.”

“Of course,” Bucky agreed right away.

“Alright,” Tony smiled weakly. “Thank you. For — for everything,” he said, making a gesture towards what was left of the building. Bucky only smiled, Tony’s words meaning a lot to him.

They split, and Bucky and the girls and the cats took the car, while Bruce, Sam, Tony and Steve decided to walk the distance. Sam and Bruce went ahead, while Tony lingered in place for a bit longer, looking at what once was Meow Cafe.

“Babe?”

Tony sniffled, trying to keep it together. He should be happy that all cats made it and no one got injured. Yet, his heart was bleeding.

“Tony. Let’s go,” Steve urged gently, taking Tony’s hand in his. Tony let himself be guided, sending the last, longing look at the place that wasn’t only his job but was like a second home to him.

Miraculously, the earlier abandoned items were still there, maybe people were suspicious of them, and were afraid to pick them up. The guys split the items between themselves and it was much easier to carry them than earlier. They focused on that, not wanting to talk, knowing that the time for discussion would come soon enough.

***

Back at Tony’s apartment, Figaro seemed pleased and intrigued with so many visitors. He was wary of his cat friends at first, smelling smoke and fear, but with time he walked from one cat to the other, hidden in various parts of Tony’s apartment, comforting them with nuzzles and trying to invite them to play. Only inside, Pepper let go of Tsuki, knowing that she was safe.

“So, coffee?” Jan asked, unsure what they should do, and a warm beverage sounded nice and soothing.

“No coffee,” Tony scoffed, draping a blanket over Pepper’s back. “I have some chamomile tea,” he said and noticed that everyone, except Pepper, was staring at him, clearly shocked. “Yes, I don’t drink only coffee, jerks!”

The quiet, humorous laughter sounded inappropriate in such grim circumstances.

“Did anyone call Happy?” Bruce asked quietly, and Pepper flinched hearing her husband’s name.

“I did,” Jan raised her hand, “while we were in the car. He is on his way.”

“We need to feed the cats,” Tony said out loud, worrying how to solve the bowls problem. “And set bowls with water, they must be thirsty.”

The next minutes passed on making the tea and making the cats comfortable. Tony’s apartment wasn’t small, but it was difficult to move around with such a mass of people and cats, constantly bumping into each other. When they settled and cats were quietly munching their portions of kibble, and humans sat down with cups of tea, someone knocked on the door. Steve was the one who stood up and let the newcomer in.

“I came as soon as I could,” Happy panted out, flushed in the face and scanning the crowd until his eyes set on Pepper, curled between Tony and Janet. After hearing her husband’s voice, all emotions Pepper held in for so long finally burst. There was a loud wheeze and then the woman tilted her head up and broke into a loud, hysterical cry that left humans and cats startled. No one could blame her, as Pepper remained remarkably strong for the whole day, and let her guard down only when her husband came.

“Oh, honey,” Happy breathed out, his eyes filling with tears too, at the sight of his beloved woman crying her heart out. He was a huge guy, a former boxer, but had a gentle soul and kind eyes. He made his way to his wife and Jan started to chase everyone out to the kitchen, granting the married couple some privacy. While walking, Tony looked to the back, and saw wailing Pepper being cradled by Happy who kept whispering soothing things to her.

“It-it’s goooneee…” Pepper sobbed out, big round tears rolling down her cheeks as she tugged on Happy’s shirt.

“I know, I know. We will manage. We once did it, we can do it again, right?”

Tony looked away, trying to stop his own tears. God, how he wanted to believe Happy.

***

The remaining people crowded around the small table in the kitchen, not talking to each other, but all thinking about the same thing.

What would happen to the cats?

Tony decided to break the silence.

“Cats are staying with me,” he said, drawing all attention to him.

Steve sighed, having a feeling that would happen and Tony would volunteer. Tony glanced at Steve, understanding the sigh. Having that many cats would get him kicked out.

“For a while,” Tony swallowed, correcting himself. “For today for sure. There is no point in taking them apart, they need each other.”

“And tomorrow?” Bruce asked sadly.

“Oh, I know!” Jan bounced, “Pepper has this notebook with contacts to people who wanted to adopt the cats. We just have to give them a little push for a quicker adoption,” she brightened, finding a solution.

“Let’s hope she has it, and it wasn’t left in the flames,” Sam added.

“Why are you so negative?” Jan huffed her cheeks out.

“Hey, I am just being real,” Sam defended himself, but even Bucky shook his head. Usually, untactful remarks were his specialty.

“If we won’t have the notebook, can any of you adopt some cats?” Steve asked.

“Welllll,” Jan started, curling a strand of hair around her finger, “I already have Bee, but if there won’t be any other solution, I will adopt one or two.”

“Bee is a cat?” Bucky asked, raising his eyebrow.

“No, Bee is my parrot,” Janet smiled brightly. Parrots and cats didn’t match, so Janet’s offer would be plan B.

“Bruce?” Tony asked, turning pleading eyes on his friend.

Bruce sighed. “Gamma and Beta won’t like this.”

“Those are cats, right?” Bucky asked again, looking at the brunet.

“Yeah, sphinxes.”

“Those naked cats?” Bucky shuddered, thinking about the bare, wrinkly skin.

“They are so ugly that it makes them wonderful!” Janet praised enthusiastically.

“And Pepper has Daphne,” Tony thought out loud, meaning Pepper’s pearly white Persian.

“Maybe Natasha can adopt a one,” Steve said.

“Oh, and I will ask at work! I think T'Challa wanted a cat,” Sam added.

Seemed that they would find a solution after all.

“STAFF MEETING!” Happy called from the living room, the phrase the crew of the Meow Cafe heard so many times. This time, not only staff showed up.

It was getting late, and there was no point in keeping everyone in after an already exhausting day. Sam’s grim guess came true, and Pepper’s notebook was consumed by the flame, but Pepper, being the reasonable adult she was, kept an electric copy on her phone. Tony’s proposition of keeping the cats for the night was met with approval and gratitude, and they all parted, saying goodbyes and thanks, and Pepper thanked for long minutes to a very flustered Bucky for his courage and kindness, while Steve talked with Happy, leaving their conflict behind. For tomorrow, owners of Meow Cafe would have to deal with all legal stuff, while Tony’s apartment was called an official base for all things connected to cats, and they would meet again and Jan, after receiving the copy of the list, took it upon herself to call the potential adoptees.

Night came soon enough, and Steve found himself squeezed by Tony and Fig, as every night, and two other cats, Gizmo and Ramses, but it seemed that during the night, more cats would join them, Tsuki and Blondie already lurking around the bedroom, waiting for the lights to go out, while Oliver curled on the couch and Shandi fell to sleep on one of the cat shelves. Tony looked pleased, and Steve decided that he didn’t have anything to complain about.

Until 3 am came and all cats collectively decided to chase each other and loudly demand food and attention from their humans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did I decide to burn Meow Cafe? I have few reasons - to end Ty's plotline, to give Bucky a thing to prove himself, to introduce new characters... Because remember that when one thing ends, a new thing starts! See you next chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the horrible incident that happened to Meow Cafe everyone is sure that the cafe will be reopened, but the final decision wasn’t made yet. Anyway, cats come first and looking for new owners begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, that was one crazy ride! we are coming back to happy chapters. hope you will like them, as the story is slowly finishing!

Steve stood perfectly still, mesmerized by the sight. It was just unreal. And the purring and crunching sounds were overwhelming. It was a perfect symphony.

So, that’s how five cats eating at the same time sounded. Not that he was ever curious to find out.

“Okay, guys. there are two bowls left,” Steve said, pointing to the bowls at the far left, not occupied by any of the cats, “they are for Gizmo and Fig, don’t touch them okay, DON’T,” Steve warned pointing at Ramses who moved head up from his emptying bowl and looked longingly at the free bowls brimming with food. Steve sighed and poured in some more kibble into the cat’s bowl, which Ramses greedily started to munch. “Anyone wants more? Milk, water?” he asked, like a bartender to a fussy cat clientele. He didn’t get an answer and the cats happily munched on their food. “Okay. I am going out and will be back in like an hour or so. Be good, and let Tony sleep,” Steve said, turning around and walking out of the crowded kitchen.

On his way back, he made sure that the litter boxes were empty and clean, cringing at what he saw when he woke up this morning and quickly set up another litter box, just in case. Good thing they had the extra litter. It suddenly all made sense to him why Tony taught Fig to use the toilet. It really was simpler. The litter boxes were fresh and Steve walked to the corridor, picking up his sneakers and brushing off orange fur and pressing out some dents in the material after Oliver had taken a nap on his shoes, almost ready for his morning jog. He was hoping that the cats would let Tony sleep a bit longer, as yesterday was rough for both of them, and the night wasn’t better when the cats decided to collectively chase the shadows around the apartment until sunset. That was why Steve’s usual morning jog was postponed from 7 am to nearly 9 am. He didn’t have the strength to get up from the bed. He almost went out, when he heard muffled giggling coming out of the bedroom. Intrigued what might be happening, Steve made his way there and peeked into the bedroom.

“Babe?” he asked quietly, frowning when he saw that Tony was wide awake, laying flat on the bed, Figaro pressed to his thigh, while Gizmo curled in a ball on Steve’s pillow. Tony was holding a phone in his hands and giggling sweetly at whatever he was watching. He took his eyes off the screen for a second and waved at Steve, smiling sleepily.

“Tony, what are you doing?” Steve asked, stepping into the bedroom and closer to the bed.

As an answer, Tony giggled some more and turned his phone to show Steve was he was watching. It was a video of two kittens on a galaxy background, meowing in tune with the music in the background. ’Kittens in space’. So, Tony was in bed, surrounded by cats and watching videos with cats. It was oddly adorable and Steve only playfully rolled eyes at his crazy cat lady. Tony didn’t look bothered and didn’t expect Steve to understand and giggled some more at the over dramatic reaction.

“Try to get some sleep, remember that Janet will be here at noon,” he reminded, meaning Janet bringing Pepper’s notebook and calling potential cats’ adopters. “I left you breakfast in the fridge, reheat it, and I fed the cats and cleaned the litter box—”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Tony interrupted, looking awake all of sudden. He sat up and put his phone away, looking at Steve with wide eyes. “You cleaned the litter box?”

“Well, yeah. It needed cleaning. And I set up another one, just in case—”

“You fed the cats and cleaned the litter box,” Tony repeated, sounding like if he didn’t believe it himself. “And you made me breakfast.”

“Yeah,” Steve confirmed, looking at his boyfriend suspiciously. Something wasn’t adding up here.

“Wow, you are… Amazing,” Tony smiled, smiled real and beautiful, like if Steve was his whole world, and Steve had to fight down the blush in his cheeks, never before receiving such an honest compliment from Tony or anyone else for that matter. No bite, no teasing, just genuine, unfiltered affection. “You are almost perfect.”

Oh, and there it was.

“What do you mean almost?” Steve asked, propping hands on his hips in fake anger. This was much more comfortable for him.

“Well, you can’t make a proper cup of coffee to save your life— AAAH! NO!” Tony laughed, trying to scramble away when Steve jumped at him, hands venturing under the covers and grabbing and poking at the bare skin, delivering punishment. “HIHIHIHI!! FIIGG!! DEFEHEHEHEND MEE!”

Instead of helping, Figaro moved away from his trashing humans, stretched sweetly and trotted out of the bedroom for breakfast, Gizmo soon following, leaving their people with laughter and a lot of cat fur flying everywhere.

***

Happy and sweating, Steve made his way back home, his muscles aching in a satisfying, post-workout way. The morning was sweet but ended way too soon, and he was hoping that he and Tony could have a little more sweet time only to themselves before Janet shows up. Fate had different plans for them, and as soon as he unlocked the door, he saw black shoes with yellow details and a woman’s voice, chattering over the phone. Maybe he felt disappointed at first, but he really liked Janet and she was a great friend, so he ultimately, he was happy to see her. He put his own shoes next to the black yellow sneakers, and stepped into the living room, waving to Janet stuck to a phone, and walking back and forth across the room.

“Yes, I know, it is a tragedy,” Janet said into the phone, waving back to Steve, “no, we don’t know the cause yet, it was an old building, it might be some faulty installation—”

No one ever said a word what, or who, caused the fire. They had no solid proof that it wasn’t an accident, but arson. Steve still remembered Tony’s crying face and broken voice as he sobbed out that everything was his fault, which wasn’t the truth in the slightest. Some people just didn’t know when to let go. Yet, they had no evidence to link the tragedy that happened to Meow Cafe, with the jerk who shall not be named. Steve walked to Tony, working on something on the computer on his cluttered desk, and kissed his boyfriend’s temple, silently greeting him, not wanting to talk until Janet was over with the conversation.

“As we promised, Meow Cafe will fully equip your cat. No, I insist, I already talked with my boss and she won’t have it any other way. Of course. I will see you tomorrow, Heather,” Janet smiled and ended the call. She puffed her cheeks out and dramatically collapsed on the couch, careful to not fall on the sleeping Tsuki, who didn’t move an inch. “Ahh, this is tough work. I need more coffee,” she said, putting a hand over her eyes.

“Yeah, me too,” Tony agreed, standing up from the computer and stretching. He was wearing his too short, pink Gattara shirt, Steve had bought for him in Rome and booty shorts, but Janet seemed unfazed, like if she already saw Tony in skimpier outfits. The thought made Steve intrigued a little bit.

“Do you want anything?” Tony asked, bumping his shoulder into Steve’s.

‘ _For you to wear pants and a decent shirt_ ,’ Steve thought but didn’t say it out loud. “Water will be great, thanks,” he told his boyfriend and watched as Tony went to the kitchen, hips swaying sweetly on his way. Seriously, Tony needed pants covering his butt right now, not for Janet, but for Steve’s sanity.

“How is it going?” he asked, turning to Janet to keep his thoughts occupied and sitting in the armchair next to the couch.

“It is going fine,” Janet smiled, her voice getting tired from all chatter. “Everyone is so sweet and some even want to make donations for us to open a new cafe. Pep and Happy are at the insurance company today to assess the damage and later they want to meet with a real estate agent to look for a new place.”

“Hope it won’t be too far,” Tony said, walking back into the room, holding a tray with two large cups of coffee and a tall glass of water for Steve, “I chose this job mainly because it is so close to my place you know,” he said, setting the coffee and water on the table.

Steve felt a wave of shame and worry washing over him. Pepper kept repeating that there would be always room for Tony in the Meow Cafe, but if Tony’s assumptions were correct, would Pepper still think in the same way? The thought was tying Steve’s stomach in a knot.

“How many people did you call?” Tony asked, sipping on the coffee and Steve tried not to think that half-naked Tony was standing on a mouth reach next to him.

“Let’s see,” Janet said, looking through the notes on her phone, that Pepper had sent to her, "I called—“

_KNOCK, KNOCK!_

Steve frowned, not expecting anyone. He glanced at Tony and his boyfriend looked equally surprised.

"Hey!” more knocking, “it’s me and Sam!”

“Oh, Bucky,” Steve said, and hear Sam hissing to his boyfriend to not yell in the corridor.

“Let them in, Steve!” Tony called, already in the bedroom, quickly changing into something less revealing. He didn’t have a problem to prance around half naked in front of Steve or Jan, but he saw Bucky only three times in his life so far, so it was definitely too early.

Steve stood up and opened the door wide, his voice getting stuck at the sight. By the bright smile and scruffy chin, he saw that it was Bucky. But at the same time, it wasn’t. The long, hanging around his cheeks strands of hair were gone, being much shorter at the sides, while the top was slightly longer, long enough to sweep up and to back, creating a casual look. To complement his new look, Bucky had to realize that he had different clothes in his closet than worn out hoodies with big front pockets and his trademark baggy, red jacket. Currently, he was sporting a new look, in fitted slacks and buttoned up shirt. Even Jen leaned out from her seat, eyeing the man. He almost didn’t look like Bucky.

“Hey, Steve,” he laughed, “one of the cats got your tongue while you were sleeping?” he laughed at his own joke. He sure did sound like Bucky.

“Doesn’t he look great?” Sam beamed, loving the change in his boyfriend. Not that he didn’t love him before. “I can finally introduce him to my parents,” he said, and Bucky whined in embarrassment.

Steve made room for both men to enter and closed the door quietly. This was the day when the running gag of mistaking Bucky for a homeless person died. Janet said hi to the newcomers, still eyeing Bucky suspiciously and in the end claiming that she liked him more when he looked like a hobo, to which Bucky just laughed in good humor. At the same time, Tony walked out from the bedroom, in a tank top and drawstring pants, a very Tony like a set of clothes, and stood in shock when he saw Bucky, blinking rapidly.

“Hey, look who got cheekbones!” Tony pointed out with a smile, instead of the traditional greeting. Steve looked back at Bucky’s face and noticed that the new haircut really brought up the defined shape of his friend’s face. The long hair made it look kinda chubby.

After making fresh coffee for everyone, they all settled down with their cups, or in Steve’s case, a glass of orange juice, Bucky, Sam and Janet taking the couch, while Steve sat in the armchair, Tony wriggling next to him, sitting his butt on the armrest.

“Did the cats give you trouble?” Sam asked, while Bucky was wishing that he had five arms, and could pet all the cats that came to say hi to him and Sam, trying to distribute his affection equally.

“It wasn’t easy,” Steve said, just in time as Tony started to yawn, neither of them sleeping too well last night, “but Janet is trying to find a home for all of them.”

“Yeah, it is going great!” she said, looking back through her phone, “I already talked to people who wanted to adopt Blondie and Shandi and they will come to pick them tomorrow.”

“Great,” Sam smiled, and Bucky listened carefully. The pair exchanged meaningful looks and Sam coughed subtly. “Actually, we came here for a reason. Bucky wants to say something.”

Bucky scoffed because it wasn’t what they agreed on and he sent his boyfriend an accusing look. Sam smiled encouragingly and pushed Bucky on the shoulder, cheering on him to spill it.

“Well,” Bucky started, looking first at the ceiling, before on the group. “I want to adopt one of the cats. Tsuki.”

Steve looked with soft eyes at his friend. “Buck, that is a great idea–”

“You can’t have her.”

All eyes immediately went to Tony, who seemed initially startled at the attention his comment gained him.

“Tony,” Steve warned.

“No, I am sorry, he really can’t have her,” Tony continued, sounding a little frantic and panicked when he saw how sad Bucky became, “Tsuki already has someone who wants to adopt her.”

“Tony is right,” Janet confirmed on a sad note, looking through her phone and showing Bucky a photo of a short girl in glasses and long, blond hair, holding Tsuki in her arms in the Meow Cafe, both cat and girl looking happy. “I am sorry.”

Bucky looked at the note, not arguing with it. Yet, he felt a little sore. “It's… it’s okay…”

“There are still other cat’s left, like Oliver or Ramses—”

“Actually,” Sam jumped in this time, “I was thinking that my colleague from work could adopt Ramses.”

“The one you mentioned yesterday?” Janet asked and Sam nodded.

“I even took a picture of Ramses and sent it to him. He said he is perfect.”

Janet pulled her eyebrows together. “I hope you know that before we give any of our cats away, we have to make an environment check and the future owner has to sign an adoption agreement.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Sam assured, positive of his friend’s honesty and that he would take good care of the black cat.

“So, that leaves Oliver and Gizmo,” Steve summed up, looking back at Bucky. Bucky shrugged, unsure of his situation, his heart set on adopting Tsuki.

“I think that Gizmo would be good for you,” Tony said gently, looking at Bucky with a smile. To be honest, Tony secretly planned to keep Gizmo, as the cat didn’t bond with anyone in any particular way, and the crew of Meow Cafe didn’t insist on that, as everyone was sure that Tiberius would adopt the cat he had brought in. After everything that happened, Tony wouldn’t even let that bastard open a can of cat food, not trusting him with anything. “He is young and playful, and he matches your new look,” Tony added on a humorous note, meaning Gizmo’s white and black fur that resembled a tux. “But the decision is up to you.”

Bucky looked wishfully at Tsuki napping next to Sam’s thigh, a little broken that the Siamese wasn’t for him. He turned to Gizmo, sitting on one of the cat shelves, and looking down at them with gentle interest.

“What do you say, buddy?” he asked the cat, “want to be my new best friend?”

Gizmo slowly blinked and shyly ducked his beautiful head, not used to so much attention.

“I guess that means a yes,” Janet said happily.

“I volunteer to check Bucky’s home!” Tony raised his hand, ignoring the fact that he and Steve already were there, “and just so you know, I can be extremely demanding,” he warned in all seriousness, causing everyone to laugh.

The conversation moved on, and Janet called T'Challa, Sam’s friend who wanted to adopt Ramses, to talk with him and set an appointment later today for the environmental check. In the meantime, Tony went with Bucky through the adoption agreement, patiently explaining every unclarity, and emphasizing one of the last points, that stated that in the case when the owner won’t be capable or not willing to take care of the cat anymore, they are legally obliged to return the cat to the cafe or to the appointed guardian, in Gizmo’s case, Tony. Tony explained that this was included in the adoption agreement to protect the cat from being kicked out on the street or given to the shelter. Environment check-ups every six months were another controversial point, but Tony explained that usually it just a phone call to make sure that the cat still has its home and is healthy and well, and so far it never happened that they took away a cat from anybody. In case of the cat becoming sick in the future, Meow Cafe was entitled to cover up to 50% of bills for medical treatment, depending on the health state of the cat. Overall, Bucky was impressed. He never thought that adopting a cat was such a serious business and Tony looked at him meaningfully and said, that when adopting a cat, or other pet, the new owner is making a promise to keep the pet healthy and happy till the end, even if it means certain sacrifices for the owner. Keeping a pet wasn’t the easiest thing, but animals could be wonderfully grateful and amazing companions.

Late afternoon, Bucky and Sam started to get ready to leave, Sam needing to make it to his work for second shift. They said their goodbyes, and Bucky spent some long minutes cooing and petting Gizmo, whispering promises of providing him with a good home. When they left, the apartment became quiet again.

“Okay,” Janet decided, taking the phone back in her hands, “time to get to work. Maybe this time I can catch Rapunzel.”

“Rapunzel?” Steve asked, pilling the empty coffee cups on the tray he had brought from the kitchen.

“Ah, the girl who wants to adopt Tsuki,” Tony explained with a smile, “she has this looong blond hair, going almost to her knees. When Janet saw it for the first time, she almost wrapped herself in it out of excitement.”

“It was like a beautiful, flowy waterfall of gold,” she said dreamily, usually happy with her short, cheerful bob, but sometimes feeling jealous of people who could grow their hair to such length. She tried, but somehow she couldn’t go past her shoulder blades, therefore, decided to keep her hair up to the chin.

“I call her Amora, because she reminds of a girl I used to go to high school with. At least because of the hair, not character,” Tony continued, turning back to Jan, “what was her real name, though?”

Janet thought for a while, tapping on the phone, instead of checking in the list. “Yoshi,” she said in all seriousness.

“No, not Yoshi,” Tony cheerfully denied.

“I will call her and we will find out!” Jan decided with a smile, going through the contact list.

“Yeah, I am going back to work too,” Tony stretched and moved back to the desk, opening his laptop.

“What are you doing?” Steve asked, putting the tray back on the table, getting curious.

“Designing a new logo for Meow Cafe,” Tony said lightly, twisting to the side to show Steve his work. “I didn’t decide on colors yet.”

The new logo was simple, yet elegant. It was a standard rectangle shape with a silhouette of a stretching cat in the bottom right corner, the cat made of curves and soft lines. On the left were some small cat paw prints. The sign Meow Cafe was in a bold, yet soft and wavy font, which gave a classic feeling, but was warm and inviting. There was a border going around the rectangle, not touching the edges, popping out the logo more. Tony had two versions of it, once on a calm violet background with milky lines, the second one on a warm brown background with beige details. Steve correctly guessed that the colors of the second version were supposed to stand for the colors of coffee.

“Wow, it looks great,” he said in all seriousness. “I didn’t know you are a graphic designer.”

Tony laughed. “What, you thought that my only talent is brewing coffee? This is my second job, it started as a hobby and something to kill time, but I like to think, I got good at it,” he said, turning back to the computer and smiling at his work.

“It is really nice,” Steve said in all honesty, very impressed. “Much nicer than the previous logo, that one looked tacky—”

It was too late and the words already left his mouth, despite the warning signals Janet was sending him, continuing her phone conversation.

Tony turned to Steve, showing him an indignant face. “I designed that tacky logo!”

Steve couldn’t help it and widened his eyes comically, remembering the ugly orange color and the fuzzy cat, in a similar position to this one, but, well, fuzzy. “But — this looks nothing like the previous one!” Steve said, looking back at the new logo.

“It was one of my first projects,” Tony seethed, deeply offended, “it was almost two years ago, I was just starting!”

Oh geez. Steve didn’t really knew what to reply and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. There was only one thing he could say to make things better. “Uh… I love you?” he meeped out. He could very clearly hear Janet snort, while Tony rolled his eyes and turned back to the laptop, not placated yet.

“Oh come on,” Steve whined, recognizing when Tony was pouting. “I am sorry, okay?” he said, gently pressing on his boyfriend’s cheek with one finger, and being batted away. “I will make you carbonara for lunch,” he hummed enticingly.

That got Tony’s attention. He slowly turned to Steve, looking a bit less offended. “Chocolate mousse for dessert?”

What were calories. “Sure,” Steve smiled and graciously Tony put his cheek out, letting Steve kiss him. Just when he leaned down and almost kissed, Tony turned his head around, their lips meeting together in a quick smooch, which left them both smiling.

Steve returned for the tray, making a mental plan of how to arrange everything in the kitchen to be the most efficient while preparing lunch, when he noticed Tony’s phone on the table, and Rhodey’s photo flashing on the screen.

“Babe, you have a call,” Steve said, and propping the tray against his hip, he handed Tony the phone.

“Oh, Rhodey,” Tony said calmly, catching the call in time. “Hey, what’s—”

“TONY, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! WHAT HAPPENED?!’

Steve observed as Tony grimaced and put the phone away from himself, hearing Rhodey blaring into his ear. He pulled the phone back. "What, what do you mean what happened—”

“Sam told me there was a fire in the cafe!! Are you alright?! Is Pepper alright?! Are the cats alright?!”

Tony rubbed his ear with a pained expression. Seemed that Sam reached work and shared the sad news with Rhodey. Yesterday, Tony was too exhausted to call him, and somehow in the rush of today, it slipped his mind.

“Relax, honey badger, everyone is fine and the cats are alright—”

Steve smiled, walking to the kitchen, as always happy that Tony was surrounded by people who cared about him so much. His steps quickened when he clearly heard Rhodey yelling something about Tony finding a boyfriend and forgetting about his friends, which definitely wasn’t true and Tony quickly said that, but Steve still took a tactical retreat to the kitchen. Seemed that once again he wasn’t exactly off the hook with Rhodey.

***

The next day, when Steve started to wake up for his morning jog, he noticed that he wasn’t the only one awake. Tony was on his back, eyes wide open and he was looking at the ceiling, not even blinking. Figaro was stretched on his stomach, weighing him down, and for a change, it was Blondie who slept between them, and Oliver curled in the left lower corner of the bed, looking like an orange tire.

“Babe?” Steve asked, turning to Tony, not wanting to disturb the cats. “What’s wrong?”

Tony didn’t answer right away. He pulled his eyebrows together and scrunched his nose, deep in thought. “I need to go to the bathroom and I can’t move Figaro,” he said in all seriousness.

The silence between them stretched and Steve had to try to not snort in laughter, the problem seeming absurd to him. “Need help?” he asked, grinning in amusement, while Tony nodded. Steve sat up and put his hands under Figaro, planning to pick the cat up. “What the–” Steve blinked, sure that he would be able to pick the fluffy beast effortlessly up, but somehow Figaro melted into the bed and seemed twice as heavy, and he wasn’t the lightest cat to start with.

“Told you,” Tony said and smugness was dripping off his voice.

With a grunt, Steve abandoned his previous task, and instead slowly slid Figaro all the way down and off from Tony. As soon as he was free, Tony jolted out of the bed, and ran to the bathroom, really needing to use it. And yet, Figaro remained perfectly still. Maybe his whiskers twitched a bit, but except that, the cat was in deep sleep.

When Tony came back, he grinned at his boyfriend, and got back to bed, moving as close to Steve as possible, mindful of Blondie in between them and Figaro who took more place than usual. Only Oliver, though matching Fig in size, seemed to take the least space, curled into a ball.

“So, today is the day,” Steve smiled, wrapping an arm around Tony, “are you ready for this?”

Tony cast his eyes down, looking at Blondie. She was for the last time in his bed. “Yeah, I am ready,” he said quietly. It was time to say goodbye to some of the cats and give them a new home.

“Will you cry again?” Steve asked with a teasing smile, trying to loosen up the atmosphere. Giving away his pupils, even to loving homes, was always emotionally draining for him.

“No,” Tony scoffed, but the next second he wrinkled his nose, as if already trying to hold tears back, “maybe. Will try not to.”

Steve didn’t say anything, just drew closer to his boyfriend and kissed Tony’s forehead tenderly. It would be hard to say goodbye, but this time, Steve would be there to wipe off the tears.

***

“Hi!” Tony swung the door open, first to jump out of his seat when he heard the knocking, not even giving Steve a chance. Steve only smiled, happy that Tony’s fear of opening door was already forgotten.

“Supplies!” Happy announced, holding six bags of litter, three in each hand. Bruce had six bags of dry cat food, while Janet was given two bags of cans, and Pepper held new litter boxes and fluffy cat beds. Combining with the cat toys Steve bought for the Meow Cafe, laying new and unpacked, it was all the items they needed to set a layette for the cats.

“Pepper has news!!” Janet hollered, skipping into the room to put the cat food aside and pet all cats.

“I was waiting for us all to be together,” Pepper smiled, and after everyone put all the bags in the corner of the apartment, she took Happy’s hand. “We will reopen the cafe in a new place.”

Janet and Tony cheered the most at the news, and Steve and Bruce exchanged relieved smiles. They all would lie, saying that it wasn’t the main topic among the group. They all assumed that the cafe would be reopened, but it was all wishful thinking and entirely up to Pepper. Running a cafe was her dream, but maybe, after all, she was through she would come back to her previous work in the office.

“It will be a bigger and needs renovations, but the owner wants to sell it as soon as possible, so I said yes. If everything goes smoothly, we will be ready to open in Autumn!” Pepper shouted with a smile, the happy atmosphere getting into her. Janet and Tony started to loudly discuss the new decor of the cafe, and Janet promised to make custom uniforms for everyone. In the cheerful chaos, Pepper turned to Steve.

“I hope your offer as a handyman is still valid. I will need all the hands I can get.”

Steve smiled, happy to help. “Of course!”

It was a good start to a long day, and the whole crew of Meow Cafe has reunited again, forming an assembly line to do the layettes for cats and their new owners as smoothly as possible. It would go a lot smoother, if some cats weren’t getting too curious.

“No, you may not,” Janet said patiently, taking Ramses out of the fluffy bed and putting the cat aside. “I need to pack this, okay?” she patted the black cat’s head in consolation and Ramses meowed something, showing the lack of upper and lower fangs Steve didn’t notice before.

“What happened with his fangs?” he asked, appointed to segregating the cat toys, making sure that each cat got an equal share.

“They fell out!” Janet replied, taking the first portion of cat toys and pouring them into a material bag, tying a ribbon around it.

“Ramses is nearly sixteen years old,” Bruce added, dividing cans with wet food and the dry food.

“Umm,” Steve listened unsure how to comment to that, “is that a lot for a cat?”

“Yeah, he is a senior cat. Usually, our cats are up to five years old, but Tony insisted on having at least one senior cat in the cafe,” Pepper added, arranging every passed item to her in the litter box, serving as a base of the layette.

“When you look at the statistics, it is harder for senior cats to find a home,” Tony said, petting Ramses and holding him in his arms to keep the curious cat out of the way. He was a mature boy, but enjoyed being held up, which wasn’t the case with all cats. “People tend to over look them, preferring kittens or younger cats, but senior cats are wonderful. Their character is already developed and you know what to expect from them, they know basic house etiquette and they are easier to train than younger cats. Still, Ramses can be a little mischievous,” Tony smiled, looking at the cat, “I know it was you who scratched my couch, weren’t you?” he cooed lovingly, and Ramses blinked his green eyes innocently.

“Speaking of scratching,” Pepper huffed, looking up from her task, “where is Happy with scratching posts? I can’t finish these without them!”

“Coming, boss,” Happy appeared in the doorway, carrying two more bags of cat items. “And I found visitors along the way,” he said, walking to Pepper with the bags, Natasha walking right after him, together with someone new.

“Hi, everyone! Cats and people!” Natasha called friendly, waving her hand to the group.

“Nat, what are you doing here?” Steve asked, his voice making its way through all the greetings. He didn’t expect to see her here.

“Jan invited me over, she said you will need help,” Natasha replied, and Steve looked at Janet, who beamed a smile. He also caught a sight of Bruce’s reddening face, and realized that Jan didn’t give up in her plan of setting her and Tony’s friend up with his friend. “And this is Clint,” she pointed to the guy next to him.

“Woah, only Clint? Not 'this is Clint, my amazing boyfriend’?” the guy laughed. He was slightly taller than Natasha and had dirty blond, short hair and a big smile that showed mimic lines in his face. The guy had to smile a lot. “Hey, and you are Steve! The guy who teaches art! You look like a P.E. teacher!” he pointed out, noticing Steve’s biceps and expansive chest.

Steve laughed forcefully, feeling uneasy and unsure what to make of the comment. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“Okay, people!” Pepper clasped in her hands, disciplining her crew back. “First people to come and pick the cats will be here in less than thirty minutes! Chop, chop!”

“More like ' _meow, meow_ ’,” Clint chuckled, in a deep, pleasant voice, sitting down on the floor, and petting whichever cat came to him first.

“Now you all see why I keep him hidden,” Natasha complained dramatically, to the general mirth of everyone gathered.

***

“Bye! I will email you with the new location! Thank you again!” Janet quietly closed the door. They were half into the adoption process and Shandi was the first one to go, adopted by a young girl with bright blue eyes and mahogany hair and Shandi was clearly delighted to see her friend again. Sam’s friend, T'Challa came next, a tall, dark skinned man, looking somehow royal, who had immediately fell in love with Ramses, with the cat that was big and masculine, but less stoic than his future owner and a lot more vocal, and they formed a wonderful pair. And a minute ago, Blondie was adopted, by the same lady who took Little Eye, one of the first cats Steve met at the cafe, so they knew that Blondie went to a great home.

“Ah, such a busy day,” Pepper said, sitting down on the couch, Happy standing behind her and massaging his wife’s shoulders. “Thanks, honey,” she patted Happy’s hand and closed her eyes, taking a moment to rest.

“Are more people coming today?” Steve asked from his place on the armchair, looking at the remaining layettes.

Janet scrolled through the notes on her phone. “Rapunzel will be here in like an hour, and she is the last for today. Gizmo goes to Bucky, so we will discuss this later.”

“And what about Oliver?” Natasha asked, sitting in the middle of the rug with Bruce, and the two of them threw some cat toys to Gizmo and Figaro, watching them play.

“Oliver is free for now,” Janet said and looked somehow sadly at the orange cat, sleeping on the threshold leading to the kitchen area.

Natasha paused and looked at the big cat, calmly sleeping and not moving from his spot by an inch, despite the chaos around him. He seemed the calmest of all of the cats. “Can I adopt him?” she turned to Pepper.

Pepper opened one eye, looking at the newly met person. “Do you have any experience with cats?” she asked, her voice getting a professional undertone. The cats needed homes, but no one would give them away without making sure that the future owner would do the best he can to provide their pupils with a safe and loving home till the end.

“No, not really,” Natasha looked back at the cat, “I once had a dog, but I was really young.”

Pepper shifted her head to the side and looked more carefully at Natasha. She seemed fierce, and Oliver was calm. Maybe it was a match that could work, but why if it won’t? “Why of all cats you chose Oliver?”

“I like how mischievous he is,” Natasha smiled, showing all her teeth. No one understood what she meant, until Tony and Clint came out of the kitchen, Tony holding a hot pot with tomato sauce and pasta, already mixed into one steaming dish, while Clint had the plates and utensils in one hand, and in the other one held grated parmesan for whoever needed some more flavor. Natasha’s words became clear when both men had to lift their feet high, avoiding stepping on the cat. Thinking back to the days of Meow Cafe, Oliver tend to nap in places people had to cross the most often. He might have like attention, as everyone who passed him was either petting him or talk to him or maybe he just sneakily planned to trip people over in a true, mischievous kitty way. The little Speedbump, as he earned his nickname. And if Natasha saw in him something no one else saw, maybe they really were a good pair.

“What did we miss?” Tony asked, putting the pot on the empty table and taking plates from Clint.

“Natasha wants to adopt Olivier!” Jan exclaimed, as always the quickest to answer.

“That’s great!” Tony said, putting pasta on the plates and handing them to the group. “You will love him, he is a real sweetheart.”

“I thought you liked dogs,” Clint said, looking at his girlfriend. He didn’t have anything against cats, but he was more of a dog person.

“I like both,” Natasha replied, twirling the fork into the plate of spaghetti she received from Tony, “I was thinking of getting a pet, and Oliver needs a home.”

Janet had to hold back a squee, when she saw with how much affection Bruce was looking at Natasha, purely thanks to her words. The romance was happening, right in front of her eyes. She had a keen eye and didn’t miss that even if Nat and Bruce were sending each other sweet looks, the same kind of chemistry was going on between Bruce and Clint, and the trio sat on the rug in isolation from everyone to eat. Janet congratulated herself on her intuition.

Tony handed everyone food and piled remaining pasta on his own plate, topping it with a generous portion of parmesan. He looked for a place to sit and the last available spot was on the couch next to Pepper and Jan, except that Tsuki was still there.

“Move over, pear butt,” Tony said with love, and wriggled next to the cat, sitting on the edge of the couch. Although Tsuki was a Siamese cat, and those tend to be lean and thin, Tsuki had a lot of fur and when looking from above at her lying form, looked like a pear.

“You are not the one to point out that someone has a big butt, duck butt,” Steve muttered, slurping the pasta. Immediately, Clint choked on pasta, and Nat and Bruce had to save him, while he kept cackling maniacally. Happy snorted into his hand and Pepper and Janet looked at Steve with perplexed expressions. Tony remained perfectly still.

Steve wiped off his mouth and looked around the group. “Did I say it out loud?” he asked, realizing his mistake.

The group started whistling and cheering and Tony hid his face in his hands, becoming as red as the tomato sauce on his plate.

***

After the mysteriously named blond girl came and took Tsuki to her new home, the group started to spread, Happy and Pepper needing to finish more paperwork. Nat, Clint and Bruce headed out somewhere together, saying that they would prepare Natasha’s flat for the arrival of a cat, but with the newly discovered chemistry between them, who knew where they were heading.

“See, I was right,” Janet said instead of goodbye, last to leave Tony’s apartment, “a perfect fit,” she winked at Steve and Steve only smiled back, admitting her right.

The apartment became much quieter and from seven cats only three remained. It was a big and sudden change, but as sudden as having seven cats in the first place. So far, everything was going too smoothly and life didn’t like to be too easy.

“Steve.”

Steve turned from the door, and saw Tony, his arms opened and stretched in his boyfriend’s direction, tears starting to shine in his eyes. Right away, Steve rushed to his barista and took Tony in his arms, cuddling close.

“You were holding back this entire time?” Steve asked softly, and patted his boyfriend’s fluffy hair. With a tearful sob, Tony nodded. It was stupid, he knew it was stupid, but he couldn’t help it. He wished he could be like Janet who took energy from adoption days, almost as if feeding on the happy atmosphere, but Tony had to let it all out by crying. He was happy for his cats, he really was, but there was always some sadness in the moment.

“I am better now,” Tony sniffled, granting himself some moments of comfort in Steve’s arm and then moving away, wiping his eyes off. “Ughh, that was a long afternoon.”

“It sure was,” Steve said, his eyes not leaving his barista. Tony really was someone special. “Oh,” Steve felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and reached for it. “It is Bucky,” he said, accepting the call. “Hey Buck, what’s up — yeah, he is here. Okay,” Steve frowned and handed the phone to Tony, “he wants to talk with you.”

Tony also frowned, but took the phone anyway, and tried to still his voice. “Hey,” he greeted and his face changed from a frown to a mild shock, “Oh… Yeah, I understand. No, don’t worry about it. Yhm, yeah. Okay, bye,” Tony ended the call, looking at the phone with worry.

“What happened?” Steve asked, feeling alarmed.

Tony took a long breath. “Bucky won’t take Gizmo.”

“What?! Why?” he asked, not understanding. Bucky seemed so excited to have a cat.

“He talked with his landlord and they don’t allow any pets. He didn’t think of checking it earlier before offering,” Tony explained sadly, looking back at Steve.

Classic Bucky. Steve felt disappointed, but he knew that Bucky had to be devastated. And what would happen with poor Gizmo? He turned his eyes to the cat, calmly napping on one of the cat shelves, the same spot he was when Bucky promised him a new home.

“I am gonna make sure that Natasha can keep pets in her apartment,” Steve said and walked aside, taking the phone from Tony.

“Yeah. Okay,” Tony nodded and sat on the couch, thinking about what to do next. Figaro brushed over his calves, feeling that his friend might need some love.

***

“Thanks, Nat. Bye,” Steve hung up, the tight feeling in his throat loosening. At least one of his friends was reasonable. “We are good with Nat,” Steve announced, sitting next to on the couch to his worried boyfriend. “She has her own apartment, so there is no problem with her.”

“That’s good,” Tony replied, putting his head on Steve’s shoulder. Figaro was stretched in his lap and he slowly petted the cat, as if relaxing. “I guess we will go with the original plan with Gizmo.”

“Which is?”

“Gizmo will stay with me,” Tony said, and when Steve didn’t comment, he moved away to look, smiling at Steve’s worried face. “It is okay!” Tony assured light heartedly. “Fig could use a younger brother, he is getting too spoiled,” he patted his fluffy cat, and Figaro nuzzled into the offered hand with love.

“It is not that,” Steve still didn’t seem convinced.

“Then?”

“You know, that is your second cat. And with your tendencies, I don’t want us to end like an old couple with twenty cats instead of children—”

Tony didn’t let him finish, taking a pillow and already pounding it on his smartass boyfriend.

Steve decided to finish anyway, laughing and shielding himself from the attack. “— and with the whole house smelling of cat food and used litter, and you screaming at passersby and throwing cats at them,” he continued to laugh, loving how worked up Tony was getting and how easy it was to tease him. One more hit, and he yanked the pillow out of Tony’s hands and pressed their lips together in a calming kiss that changed into something different, and Figaro once again had to indignantly leave Tony’s knees and retreat to the cat shelve, the one not occupied by Gizmo.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The work on new Meow Cafe has started, and an unexpected reunion happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaay, so this was a long break between updates... sorry, guys, life became hectic! hope you like this chapter, as the story is slowly coming to an end!

The days were passing slowly but were hectic in their own way. Pepper was finalizing the transaction and gathering supplies for the renovation of the new and better Meow Cafe. Natasha took Oliver to his new home and sent Tony and Steve daily updates on how the orange cat was settling in (very good, he still loved to sleep in every threshold possible and Steve couldn’t help but smile wide each time he saw Natasha and noticed that her clothes were covered in orange fur).

Summer was ending and Steve had to sit down to work and plan a new school year for his students. Tony, on the other hand, became a little anxious, wishing Meow Cafe would open sooner as staying at home for so long was getting on his nerves.

Unfortunately, it started to show.

“I am asking for the last time. Who. Did. This?”

Steve tried to arrange all the materials for the syllabus on the coffee table, deciding in which order he should put them in. He didn’t like to repeat each year the same program, as art was all about creativity and different interpretations, but he will keep it organized, just to be safe from the school director. Mr Fury could be demanding and quite unpleasant when things didn’t go according to his wishes.

“You really think you will get an answer for this, babe?” Steve asked, not lifting eyes from the numerous pages spread in front of him. Maybe he should focus a bit more on sculptures this year, still having in mind the great architecture of Rome.

“One of them will crack sooner or later,” Tony replied, crossing arms over his chest. Figaro didn’t react to accusations and was spread leisurely on one of the cat shelves, his tail swooping gently and showing that he wished that his human would stop making a ruckus and not disrupt nap time. Gizmo was also on the cat shelf, clearly lurking and avoiding Tony’s gaze. Yet, neither of the cats admitted to digging in the big potted plant near the TV, throwing black soil out and into the wooden panels.

“Get down here and show me your paws!” Tony demanded, pointing his finger to the floor for emphasis. At the scream, Gizmo hid away, and Figaro’s tail swooped with more force. It was hard to say who did it, as both cats could be guilty, even if Gizmo acted more afraid. But that was just Gizmo, always easily scared and more delicate, while Figaro had high self-esteem and believed that whatever he was doing, he was doing good. It was humans who didn’t understand.

Steve tried to not smile too apparent, and God forbid, laugh, pointing his angry boyfriend’s attention to him. Maybe he could take Tony out for the weekend somewhere. Not far, just to change the environment. And without cats. That would be the hard part, talking Tony into leaving his babies, but Steve had a feeling all of them could benefit from this. And they had to use the last moments of Steve’s freedom before school starts all over again and he would go back to teaching. Just then, when Steve moved a photo of the Triton Fountain he took during his trip, something else caught his attention. Under it, there was a photo of a cat, one that resembled a whole lot Gizmo. He found the edge of the photo, and slowly pulled the whole thing to himself, holding the last issue of the newspaper he had bought this morning and didn’t look through yet. Tony always mocked him for buying a newspaper, claiming that he could find everything on the Internet for free, but Steve liked the feeling of real paper under his fingertips. Not mentioning that torn out pages, scrunched up into paper balls were the cheapest and one of the most entertaining cat toys for Gizmo and Fig, and throwing them paper balls and watching the two cats chase them around, was always fun for all of them.

Smoothening out the newspaper, Steve noticed that he was looking at the lost and found a section of the newspaper. He quickly skimmed through the column, finding the photo again and reading the text below, his eyes widening with every word. He looked back at the cat shelves where Gizmo, unhelpfully, hid away to not be faced with Tony’s wrath, but he was becoming more and more sure of it. He knew that some cats looked alike, but there were too many similar points.

“What?” Tony asked, noticing his boyfriend’s twitchy movements. “Whaaat?!” he demanded again, when Steve shook his head and folded the newspaper, hiding it away.

“Nothing!” he squeaked out. He can’t let Tony see it. Not yet. Not until he would be one hundred percent sure.

Tony drew his eyebrows together in anger and left the relieved cats alone, stomping to his boyfriend instead. “Show me the newspaper,” he said, reaching his hand for the periodical. Whatever was there, he wanted to know.

“It is nothing—”

“Show me!”

“It really is nothing!”

“You promised to never lie to me again!”

Darn. Steve bit his bottom lip and looked away. He did. He should have known that the relief driven promise would come back and bite him in the butt. Feeling defeated, he reluctantly handed the newspaper.

Tony took it, anger changing into victory as he unfolded the paper and looked at the page Steve had been studying a minute ago. At first, he didn’t see anything interesting, but Steve saw the exact moment when he did. Tony’s whole body convulsed and he drew the paper closer to his eyes, not believing what he was seeing. He read the text and quickly did the math in his head, even counting on fingers for double check, a totally unnecessary move as Tony was good with mathematics. It all fitted. The date, the neighborhood, the cat in the picture.

“Gizmo!” Tony called, lowering the newspaper. “Gizmo!” he tried again and it was the desperation in his voice, that made the black and white cat peek out. Green yellow eyes. White whiskers. Black dots on the nose. “Takk?” he asked, waiting for a reaction, but Gizmo’s ears only twitched as if he heard something he didn’t in a really long time. His real name.

It all hit Tony at once and it made his head spin, not in a good way. “Ty stole him…” Tony whispered. According to the column, a cat like Gizmo disappeared from his backyard, the same day as Tiberius brought Gizmo into the Meow Cafe. All Ty had to do was to take his collar off and discard it somewhere. It was so easy and so cruel.

“He stole him!” Tony cried out, turning to Steve. “Why was I so stupid?!”

“Babe…” Steve said softly. He hated that Tony could so easily blame everything on himself. It wasn’t his fault or anyone at Meow Cafe. They all wanted to help the seemingly stray cat, even if the prime condition the cat arrived to them was suspicious, but they saw a man trying to do a good deed, and didn’t question it. They should have pushed him more, but none of them expected it to be a scam and a way to get close to Tony.

“I can’t believe I believed him, what is wrong with me?!” Tony was beating himself. How could he be so blind? Finding a stray cat. He should smell a scam. He should know better.

“Tony, you couldn’t have known—”

“You don’t get it!! I skipped two grades in elementary school, I should be smarter than this—”

Somehow, the comment made Steve laugh and as soon as he had an occasion, he grabbed Tony in his arms and wrestled down to the couch, kissing his dumb genius breathless.

***

“Takk!”

It was the first time, Tony and Steve saw Gizmo looking so happy. When a burly blond with musculature even greater than Steve’s stood in the door, the black and white cat took the shortest way down from the cat shelves and trotted to the man, his tail standing straight and eyes widen.

“Takk, you mighty beast!” the blond called, when Gizmo jumped on his chest and the guy cuddled the cat close. “What a joyous day for us to be reunited!”

Steve and Tony stared with varying degrees of shock, Steve’s dumbfounded face purely because of the way the stranger was talking, which he should already know as he was the one who called the guy, but he thought that maybe he was an actor and caught him in the middle of rehearsal. Tony’s was soon explained.

“Wow, he is hot,” Tony whispered, staring at the long-haired blond and his square jaw. Definitely his type. He felt Steve’s burning look on him. “Outside! It is hot outside! Would you like some water?!” he rambled out, his cheeks becoming pink and Steve narrowed eyes. Riiight. They were having a pretty hot end of summer, with a lot of rain and clouds.

“Thank you, but I ought to be on my way,” the guy smiled, and it was bright and sunny, and Tony felt a bit weak in the knees, unprepared for that. Steve harrumphed and elbowed him in the ribs, causing his boyfriend to squeak. “My brother is awaiting Takk’s return. He wasn’t himself without him.”

“Oh, right! Tony suddenly remembered. “Before you go, I need to see a proof that Gi— Takk is your cat,” he said. Maybe the warm reunion should be a sufficient sign enough, but Tony decided to be twice as careful from now on. The blond fished out his wallet and took out a photo, handing it to Tony. In the photo, was the blond guy, having his arm wrapped around a pale, black-haired man with a stoic expression, holding a cheerfully looking Gizmo. There was a second photo below that one, clearly taken from hiding as it was a little bit blurry, but it was safe to say that it was the dark-haired men, holding Gizmo in his arms and smiling gently at the cat. Tony could feel the bond between them just by looking at the photo. Steve also looked at the photos, just to be sure, but there was no doubt that Gizmo and the dark haired man had something special.

“Fine with me,” Tony said, handing the photos back, and quickly looking at Steve, who smiled and nodded his agreement.

“And as promised,” the guy hid the photos back and took out an envelope instead, “the reward for keeping Takk safe.”

Tony smiled gently, not imagining that he could ever accept money from a fellow cat lover. “You can keep the money. Or even better, you can donate it to a cat shelter.”

“That I shall,” the blond guy smiled back, impressed by such noble behavior. He kneeled down with Gizmo and put a brown collar with a gold oval medallion on the cat’s neck and attached a leash to it. “It’s time to return home, Takk. Say your farewell,” he told the cat, stroking his face. Gizmo turned back and looked at the people who took care of him in the last weeks. Maybe Tony was imagining things, but it looked like if Gizmo bowed his head to them, his human’s regal behavior rubbing off on him.

“Bye, Gizmo! Stay close to home,” Tony smiled and petted the cat’s head for the very last time. Steve did the same, hoping that nothing would again disrupt their peace.

“Takk, my friends!” the blond called for goodbye, laughing at the surprised expressions of the two men. “Takk means thank you in my language,” he explained and went out of the apartment, Gizmo trotting next to his longtime no seen friend, all excited to be on his way home.

“Huh,” Steve said, locking the door behind the guy. “So, he is Norwegian, but talks like Shakespeare,” he thought out loud, “do you remember his name?” Steve asked. It was in the column, but it slipped his mind.

Tony sat on the couch and pursed his lips as he was thinking. “William,” came out eventually.

“No, not William!” Steve laughed. Maybe Tony was great at math and science, but it seemed that he had real troubles with remembering people’s name. “I think it was something like… Thud?”

Steve didn’t have any more time to think about the name when he heard a quiet sniffling. He looked back at Tony and noticed that his boyfriend was swallowing tears and trying not to break.

“Aww…” Steve cooed and sat on the couch next to Tony, letting him cuddle into his side, and cry quietly. Gizmo was back home after nearly a two months of being absent. Tony couldn’t imagine the pain the dark haired man had to endure.

“Do you think he will be happy?” Tony asked, sniffling his words, meaning the cat.

“Of course,” Steve replied, rubbing his boyfriend’s arm soothingly. “He is going back home.”

“Happier than he would be with us?” Tony asked after a while.

Steve smiled while thinking about his answer. He couldn’t imagine any cat being unhappy with Tony. “He is going back to his family, Tony,” he replied in the end and kissed the top of his boyfriend’s head, hoping that it was enough of an answer. “Oh, hey, Fig!” Steve said, when Figaro, practically out of nowhere jumped on Tony’s lap, wondering what the commotion was about. He observed the whole situation out of his hiding spot, not understanding why all his cat friends were disappearing, but also feeling that they were not in danger. It was a weird feeling.

“And you are back to being an only child,” Steve smiled, scratching the fluffy cat under his chin, just where the white spot was.

Figaro purred as an answer, and curled into Tony’s stomach, taking advantage of the moment for a quick cuddle. He felt that his friend needed more company.

Tony sniffled, petting his cat, and being petted by Steve himself. The apartment looked empty again. But he had Steve and Fig and he wasn’t really alone. It was all good, and maybe one day, life would put another cat in his way, but for now, it was fine the way it was.

***

“We will end on this today. For the next class, read chapter five and think about the differences between Roman and Greek sculptures. Class dismissed!”

It wasn’t an everyday occurrence that Steve let his students free before the assigned hour, but the lecture was done, students behaved good and they all earned an earlier break. It definitely didn’t have to do anything with the fact that it was Steve’s last class and he wanted to get out as soon as possible.

“Remember that your first art project is due until the end of this month! I won’t accept anything delayed! If you have any questions you can ask me now!” Steve called after the walking out group of chattering teens, hoping that none of them would turn around and ask him questions. He was just being nice, not counting that anyone would take on his offer. Luckily, no one did, and after the class emptied, Steve packed his things and walked out, already smiling at the perspective of the afternoon.

“Are you ready?” he was asked as soon as he stepped out of the room and almost jumped a foot up. “Woah, easy!” Natasha laughed, secretly enjoying sneaking up on her fellow teacher.

“Oh, did you end the class early today too?” Steve asked, walking down the corridor with Nat, trying to make their way out, before the halls would fill with screaming and running teens.

“Yhm. I think I would accompany you today. If you don’t mind that is,” she smiled, her eyes sparkling happily. It was no secret, that each day after Steve was done teaching, he rushed to the new Meow Cafe to help with setting up the place and meet his friends and boyfriend, where they stayed till late hours.

“I don’t,” Steve smiled back, noticing some orange fur intertwined into Natasha’s black sweater. “Aw, Oliver slept on it again?”

“Dammit,” Natasha frowned, looking down at herself and trying to pick the fur out, “I thought I cleaned it well.”

“You know how it is, when you have a cat, everything becomes a cat,” Steve laughed, not so much bothered by the black fur on his clothes anymore but finding it alarming when he woke up and had strands of long fur in his mouth. That should not happen. “How is Oliver doing?”

“Very good,” Natasha replied. They went outside and turned their faces to the sun, enjoying the crisp Autumn air around them. “He tripped Clint over last night. It was hilarious,” she said, giggling, and it was rare to see her giggle. Owning a cat was serving her well. “And how are the things between you and your barista?” Natasha asked, well aware of their eventful past.

“Very good,” Steve parroted, smiling broadly and meaning every word. Maybe it wasn’t the wild heat anymore, but he and Tony were going steady and Steve had a feeling that Tony was the one. Of course, he didn’t say anything yet, knowing that they both could rush into things, and there was no need for that. They loved each other and were not only boyfriends but partners. It was something Steve never had before. “How are Clint and Bruce doing?” Steve asked, his voice gaining a teasing note. Natasha still didn’t admit to dating them both and living in a threesome, but Steve knew better.

Natasha looked away and bit her cheek, trying to hold a smile back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said in a neutral tone. Of course. Too bad that Bruce had two sphinxes because additional fur on Natasha’s clothes would point against her.

“Yeah, you don’t,” Steve laughed, not bothered. If Natasha wanted to keep it as a secret and not say anything until they all were ready, he won’t force her. Didn’t mean he won’t tease her. “Oh, do you know if Bruce will be at the cafe today?”

“No, he has evening school today, maybe he will appear around 8 pm — sneaky!” Natasha gasped, shoving Steve in the arm and laughing together with him.

They took the subway and soon were in the neighborhood of the new Meow Cafe. It was just a few blocks away from the previous location, which still counted as a manageable walking distance from Tony’s apartment, which was good. It wasn’t as close to the main street as the previous location, and maybe it was better. It would for sure minimize people coming to get a coffee to go and point customers willing to stay and bond with the cats, without the unnecessary rush.

“We are here,” Steve stopped, letting Natasha take the sight in.

“Oh. It… looks nice,” she said wanting to be polite. It didn’t look nice at all. The building was clearly not used for a long time and the paint was falling off the walls, not mentioning the graffiti on one side. The windows were covered with black foil, including the big front window, so similar to the one that the previous cafe had, to hide everything from the people walking by. The place looked quite depressing in comparison to the shiny new buildings around it.

“They will fix the outside soon,” Steve explained, “I saw the projects and it will fit right in with the neighborhood.”

“The building looks big,” Natasha observed. Putting aside the poor look, the place had potential.

“Yeah, it is almost twice as big as the previous cafe. More room for cats!” Steve laughed and he knocked on the door, letting everyone know about his arrival before entering. “Hi! I brought a guest!”

“Hi! Come on in!” Pepper called, leaning out from her place on the spacious couch, sitting with Happy and Rhodey. The small group was in the already done part of the cafe, with walls painted in warm brown colors and latte stripes, and some furniture, stacked in a corner and still waiting to be placed. The only available furniture was the couch, covered in plastic wrap for safety until painting would be done, and small plastic tables in front with empty boxes of Chinese food. The place smelled of fresh paint and exotic spices, and it was a harsh combination, but Steve and Nat quickly got used to it.

“Long time no see!” Rhodey called to Nat when she and Steve approached and Pepper stood up to greet her properly, boys quickly following.

“It looks much nicer here,” Natasha smiled, loving how the paint made the whole place look cozy. She could imagine the whole cafe done in such colors and she already knew it was a good choice.

“How’s Oliver?” Pepper asked her friend, and everyone sat down, the girls talking about cats, while Steve asked Happy and Rhodey was there any more work left for him and how the progress was going.

“We finished installing the bar today,” Rhodey said, pointing to the bar area, “it is fully functional so we don’t need to drink instant coffee anymore!” he grinned, the next second standing up to properly greet their guests and serve them a cup. Steve watched a bit amazed, how efficient Rhodey was with the sparkling new and, in his eyes, highly advanced coffee maker. Maybe it was mandatory for all of Tony’s friends to pass a barista exam. Steve wouldn’t be surprised if that was the truth. Soon, he was presented with a cup of latte with sugar, while in front of Natasha was a double espresso, strong and black.

“The whole back office is done,” Happy summed up, listening all the renovations that already took place, while Rhodey had been preparing coffee. That included the office, cat room, kitchen and bathroom for workers. “Half of the cafe needs painting and changing of the panels, and then we have to do the bathroom for clients and the playground.”

“Playground?” Natasha asked, surprised by the words, taking a sip of her espresso.

“For the cats,” Pepper picked it up from there. “It will be an area specifically designed for cats, without access for the customers. Some pillows, toys, cat shelves, to rest and play, while customers could observe. We will put in there a lot of hiding spots in case one of the cats decides that they don’t want to be seen.”

“And then the outside. The signboard is in the making together with curtains and pillows for the furniture. We have painters scheduled. It should go smoothly now, it was a pain to fix the whole installation, it is an old building and we needed to take all precautions to not— you know,” Happy’s voice dropped. He didn’t need to say it. The fire. The official cause of the fire was faulty installation, but the opinions among the crew of Meow Cafe were divided. Very divided.

“Um, where is Tony?” Steve asked, trying to change the topic.

“He and Janet are in the kitchen. They are testing some recipe,” Pepper answered, “and I think they were saying something about trying out new uniforms?”

As on cue, there was a hearable swing of the door, and Janet’s head peaked out through the double door, the same model with an easy swing used in all restaurants. Some sweet, warm scent of spices made its way into the room and it showed how well ventilated the kitchen was.

“Good, you all are sitting!” Jan brightened, and before anyone could ask why exactly they should be sitting, Jan popped her head back into the kitchen, took a three-second break, and then leaped out again, opening the bar area and standing outside. “Ladies and gentlemen! May I have your attention, please!” she announced, putting both hands around her mouth. It wasn’t necessary, as everyone already turned to her, curious what was going on. “Straight from the runaway, I present to you, the new Meow Cafe uniforms!”

And…

Nothing. The group exchanged perplexed looks.

Janet huffed her cheeks out. She turned to the door leading to the kitchen and stomped her foot impatiently, the rubber sole of her sneakers barely making any sound. “TONY!! Get your ass here, or I will drag it out!!”

The comment made everyone chuckle a little. That was Janet, going from super sweet to super angry in less than a second.

There was another three-second break, and Janet almost jumped back into the kitchen, when the door opened.

The usual Meow Cafe uniforms were quite simple. They were aprons, black, with embroidered logo on the chest, and a big pocket in the front. Standard off the shelve. When Tony walked out, everyone saw that the new uniforms were not so different. The apron didn’t change, it was still a classic cut, just instead of the pocket being in the center, there was a smaller on the side, near the hip, and there was a second one, the same size, on the opposite side, on the chest. It was knee length and had a dark grey stripe of material around the middle, for a better fit. The used material was in steel grey color, which was less formal than the classic black from before. What made it stand out, was the accessories.

Why Tony was reluctant to go out, became quickly explained. At the top of his head, was a headband with cat ears attached, black with brownish stripes, the color resembling Figaro’s fur. It was not the end. On Tony’s hands were big gloves, cut out to look like cat’s paws, with pink paw pads, and also the same color as the ears. The fingers were cut though, and Tony’s own fingers were visible. It made sense, seeing that workers had to somehow write orders and serve coffee. It was surprising that Janet didn’t draw any cat whiskers on Tony’s cheeks to complete the look, but maybe she dropped that idea because of the goatee on brunet’s face.

The reactions were divided, from Natasha’s staring in shock to Rhodey quietly laughing at his friend’s new cat look, but it was Steve who won everything, by chocking on his coffee and spraying it out of his mouth on everybody.

“Ew! Steve!” Natasha scolded, wiping her face off.

Tony’s mouth dropped as he just noticed his boyfriend and Natasha among the crew. Jan had to time it out like that on purpose. “You tricked me!!” he pointed a paw at his friend, finger pointing at the beaming girl.

“Doesn’t he look great?!” Jan buzzed, obviously proud.

“Um… Janet…” Pepper started insecurely, while the rest of the group was drying themselves off and grumbling, except Rhodey who was still chocking with laughter. And Steve, who was still staring at Tony. “It's… It’s nice,” she said clumsily, unsure how to end.

“I know! And the material is easy to wash too! No more coffee stains! And this!” Jan took Tony’s hand and showed the pink paw pads. “Can be used to wipe off the tables!”

“Shouldn’t agree to let her design the uniforms,” Happy leaned to his wife and whispered, and Pepper grunted, knocking the man away.

The group didn’t say anything. No one wanted to hurt Jan’s feelings. Maybe Natasha wouldn’t mind, always speaking what was on her mind, but it wasn’t her place.

“By the way, I was joking,” Jan ended the silence and pushed Tony closer to the group, making him stumble. “Only the apron is for the cafe, I made the rest to make Steve spit coffee out,” she smirked, pleased that her plan worked.

Everyone breathed out in relief, especially Pepper. She took the hem of the apron and rubbed the material between her fingers. “It is really great, Jan!” she started and everyone followed with praise.

Steve didn’t say anything and kept looking from his blushing boyfriend to Janet, finally stopping on the girl. “So, can Tony keep the ears?” he asked, and if Tony wasn’t blushing enough before, his face just exploded with red. Luckily, he had his paw gloves to hide into.

“Sure!” Jan smiled, stripping Tony off the uniform and passing it along the group to get all the feedback she could before she would start sewing for everyone. She encouraged Tony with another push and practically made him stumble into Steve’s lap.

“Aw,” Steve cooed, holding his boyfriend, feeling enamored by the cute behavior. “Come here, my kitty,” he said and pulled Tony closer, kissing him once, not wanting to push it in front of the group. It seemed to work and after the last grumble, Tony sat next to Steve and pulled the gloves off, but left the headband in his hair. Just for fun.

“I am thinking of putting here a cat’s face,” Jan smiled, squeezed between Rhodey and Pepper, and drew a circle on the lower pocket with her finger, showing where the pattern should be. “Maybe in a white thread!”

“Hey, weren’t you baking something?” Happy asked, remembering why Tony and Janet went to the kitchen in the first place. Jan almost jumped out of her place, but Tony was faster and stood up first.

“It is fine, I will get it,” he said, motioning for the girl to sit down, “I got the mittens for it,” he took the previously discarded cat gloves and walked back into the kitchen. When he came back, he was holding a tray with giant cookies on them. “The oven turned itself just as we programmed it! Dig in!” he smiled, setting the tray down and taking two cookies with himself, for him and Steve.

Steve looked at the giant oatmeal cookie that was handed to him, seeing nuts and raisins in the dough. He took the first bite, and the taste and combination of spices definitely rang a bell in his head.

“Wow, those are really good!”

“Delicious!”

“Way better than the one we used to serve!”

“What recipe did you use?”

“Steve’s!” Tony announced happily, and all eyes turned to him and the blond, and it was Steve’s turn to blush, as he was not used to be the center of attention. “I hope you don’t mind,” Tony said, turning to his boyfriend. Of course, he first used the recipe and then thought about asking for permission.

Steve shook his head and nibbled on the cookie. He didn’t mind. “It is not really my recipe, it was my grandma’s,” he said and remembered the afternoon when as a little kid he was helping his granny measure out the ingredients and knead the sticky dough.

“To Steve’s grandma!” Rhodey called, raising his cookie and the rest followed, paying a tribute to the woman.

“Really, really good,” Natasha nodded, biting the cookie again, and she wasn’t big on sweets to start with.

“Umm…” Steve said, and all eyes turned to him again. “If you want, you can use this recipe in the cafe,” he offered. Maybe if his friends liked the cookies, the customers would too.

“Are you sure?” Pepper asked. It was a family recipe after all.

“Sure,” Steve smiled, again remembering his past, and this time memories of him and Bucky stuffing their faces with cookies in secret appeared in his mind. Those were good times. “I think my granny would like that.”

Pepper smiled and agreed. The new cafe was given a wonderful new start.

“New aprons and new cookie recipe! We are starting strong!” Janet cheered, and everyone nodded.

“Speaking of starting strong…” Pepper said and looked briefly at her husband, who smiled at her encouragingly. “I want to introduce another change,” she said, turning directly to Tony.

Oh uh. That was the moment. Everyone froze and Tony especially. Of course, Pepper always claimed that Tony would have a spot in the cafe, as long as he wants the job, and while he trusted Pepper, there was no solid guarantee she would hire him back.

“I thought for a long time about and I think it would be the best if…” Pepper made a pause and took a breath, “Tony would become a co-owner of the new Meow Cafe.”

“Me?!” Tony’s eyebrows raised up, and the surprise was lost in the general cheering of the group.

“That’s a great idea!”

“You deserve it, Tony!”

“Go, Tones!”

“What do you say, Tony?” Pepper asked with a smile. “I am promoting you from the head barista to a co-owner. Are you interested?”

“Peeeep…” Tony drawled, brushing both hands through his hair, unsure what to think yet. It was a huge honor, but also a huge responsibility. His fingers caught the headband with cat ears and he took it out of his hair and looked at it. If he became a co-owner, it would mean no more goofing around. No more being late. No more serving the customers, but planning and managing a group of people. And, if he was being honest with himself, he liked being a barista. He liked having direct contact with clients, and looking after the cats and job flirting with customers, granted he didn’t want to do that anymore seeing that he had Steve — his inner turmoil was interrupted when Steve put a hand on his knee and squeezed in a loving gesture. Tony’s breath hitched. If he would take the job, he would have a lot less time to spend with Steve. And…

“I really appreciate it,” Tony looked at his friend, and smiled, emotions clear in him, “but I will say no. Having my old job back is good enough for me.”

The group was disappointed and Steve smiled sadly, but understood, somehow expecting this.

“Are you sure? Maybe think about it a little more—”

“No,” Tony shook his head, interrupting Pepper, “I am sure. In fact, seeing that you want me back, I would like to become a half-time worker, instead of a full time.”

“What?! Why?!” it was Janet who cried the words out, and everyone gaped at Tony, Steve included.

“Guys, I can’t serve coffee and pet cats till rest of my life!” Tony laughed. He loved his job, but it was time to start new projects. During his free time, he got back into graphic designing and made a portfolio and had big plans. Time to focus on that, and treat Meow Cafe as a stepping stone and form of relaxation. “I am pushing thirty and—”

It was the worst timing for Steve to take a sip of his drink, as he started to choke on the liquid, quickly putting both hands to his mouth to avoid spitting on his friends again. Tony quickly patted blond’s back, helping him to calm down.

“You are thirty?!” he called out, unnecessarily loud after the coughing fit ended.

Tony narrowed eyes, sending the blond a calculating look. “In a few months, yeah, why?” he asked, and his tone told Steve to very carefully pick his words.

Steve felt a note of panic. He looked among the group and saw Rhodey and Pepper looking back at him, and he suddenly remembered that they were Tony’s peers, and very probably were the same age. Not that it mattered anyway, comparing to Steve’s twenty-eight years old, it was barely any age difference, but he always assumed that Tony was younger than him. Twenty-four, top twenty-five. He looked for help to Natasha, but the girl only kept smiling, eagerly waiting how he would get out of this one.

“Are you the same age as… everyone else?” Steve turned to Janet, and he could hear Tony roll his eyes. The brunet girl looked young, but so did Tony, and he couldn’t trust his eyes anymore.

“I am actually forty, but I keep up well,” Janet answered with a huge smile and giggled at Steve’s mortified look, as the blond totally bought it.

“Jan is a freshman in college,” Happy took pity on the baffled Steve, “and so is Bruce, if you want to know.”

Steve nodded, feeling that he made a fool out of himself. Slowly, he turned back to Tony to check if his boyfriend was still glaring at him. Unfortunately, he was. The group started talking again and Steve pulled Tony closer to himself.

“So, you were not joking when you told me that I can drink from white mugs when I get older?” he asked in a whisper, remembering the occurrence that took place in Tony’s kitchen during the movie marathon for their shared friends. That seemed to break the ice and Tony giggled in humor. He smooched his idiot boyfriend and turned to join the conversation, that currently was on a topic about hiring a new person to fill in Tony’s absence.

“Don’t worry!” Tony called, ceasing the chatter. “I already have a replacement,” he smiled, calming everyone down. All eyes turned to him, waiting for the news. Tony just smiled mysteriously, enjoying the attention. He leaned to take Steve’s cup and took a sip of the nearly cold latte. “But it is not set in stone yet. You will find out soon. And can I get a proper coffee?! Do I have to do everything around here?!” he called dramatically and stood up to go to the coffee machine, Rhodey soon following and arguing that the coffee he had made was fine, and Tony was being a pain in the a–

Steve kept smiling, listening to the chatter around him and the sound of coffee beans being ground.

Big plans, big changes, but less and less time to adjust.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the last chapter! thanks for liking this series and kudos! I posted it here in four months time, but in reality, this series took me over two year to complete... hope you liked it and that you enjoy the finale!

The work on new Meow Cafe was going smoothly and after another month it was fully furnished and equipped, sparkling new and clean, ready to accept cats and customers. Yet, the final and hardest test remained the one that would define everything.

“He is coming! He is coming!” Janet jumped away from the window, almost entangling herself in the curtains in the process. “The inspector is coming!!” she shrilled, cheeks becoming flushed from the nervous atmosphere.

“Calm down, Jan,” Bruce advised, standing behind the bar, next to Pepper who was sipping some coffee.

“What if he won’t like the cafe?! What if we did something wrong?! We will have to start all over again!!” Janet panicked further, skipping to Bruce and flailing arms in panic.

“He will like it, we did everything fine—”

“AND WHAT IF WE DIDN’T?!” Janet roared, grabbing Bruce by the collar and almost dragging him out from the bar area. Before Pepper had to intervene, there was a gentle sound of a bell ringing, indicating that someone pushed the door open. The inspector arrived.

“Hi!” Janet immediately let go of Bruce and turned around, her angry scowl turning into a welcoming smile. The girl needed only one second to change her mood dramatically. There was probably some medical term for that, but it wasn’t important. “Welcome to Meow Cafe!”

The inspector seemed unfazed. He put his nose up and sniffed, still smelling some of the paint. Tony and Steve walked behind the inspector and smiled nervously at the crew gathered near the bar area.

“Glad you could find time for us,” Pepper smiled, greeting their guest. “Janet will show you around,” she said, needing to find the over-energetic girl some task, or she might kill them all.

“Of course!” Janet nodded enthusiastically, and the tour started.

The inspector took his time and went meticulously through every inch of Meow Cafe. The new furniture was met with approval, soft and inviting both for cats and humans. The big window had a nice warm spot where the sun was shining, perfect for naps. The new cat shelves were great, placed all over the cafe, with some tunnels between them for double the fun, all in nice, pastel, bright colors and with soft carpet on the top for double kitty comfort. The inspector tested the cat door leading to the cat room, full of cat beds and bowls and more shelves, and a comfy, old couch near the wall, Bruce found on a yard sale. The best was left for last. The playground. It had to be tested to accommodate all kitty needs and shapes and weights and ages, and the inspector examined every toy and shelf and cushion and every scratch pole. It took long, nervous minutes and everyone was getting anxious, trying to hold it in and not rush anything. In the end, the inspector came back to the bar area, looking as mysterious as when the tour started.

“Can I interest you in something to drink?” Janet asked friendly, hoping that it will earn them some additional points.

One, slowly drank, bowl of milk later, the inspector looked around the new cafe and sat his fluffy butt down on the floor. The moment was prolonging and Figaro licked around his mouth, getting the last drops of milk. Immediately, everyone looked to Tony, who had been sitting on the couch with Steve, waiting for translation.

Tony, trying to not choke on his own laughter, knowing how serious everyone was treating the situation, smiled and spread his arms. “He likes it!” he announced.

The Meow Cafe’s crew cheered and Figaro closed his eyes in content. Yes, he could imagine his cat friends being comfortable in this new place.

***

“Hi! Welcome! So glad you could come!”

Steve was leaning against the bar and he couldn’t keep the smile out of his face. Finally, the day came and it was the grand opening of the new Meow Cafe. Tomorrow, the cafe would be open for all customers while this was the opening for friends and family and people who adopted the cafe’s pupils. Steve saw Pepper talking to the older couple, a marriage that had adopted his favorite Little Eye, Blondie and Crazeh, and chatting with the girl with blue eyes and dark bangs, one that gave a home to Shandi. Near the playground and watching the cats inside were three girls plus Janet, excitedly cooing over the cats and commenting how cute they were. Steve didn’t know their names, but guessed that the chubby one with long, wavy hair in the middle was the one who adopted Cow, on her right was a girl with asymmetric hair in an unusual rusty orange color, Ariel’s owner, and at the left was the one with long blond hair, tied in a bun, and by the hair, Steve made a connection that it was Rapunzel (whose real name still remained unknown), the one who adopted Tsuki. On one of the couches, was Sam and Rhodey, talking to a burly blond, who, as it turned out was neither William or Thud, but Thor, Gizmo’s rightful owner, who had brought his brother along, a lanky dark-haired man, staying away from everyone and preferring to put his all attention on the cat in his lap. Steve focused on the cat for a bit. It was a striped tabby with white socks, looking suspiciously similar to Crazeh, although smaller and more muscular, enjoying a long petting session. The new cafe was much bigger than the previous one and could host up to fifteen cats instead of six. Currently, in the cafe was a lucky thirteen of cats. And Steve had to learn the names of all of them.

“That’s Cajetan,” someone said and Steve looked at Natasha who appeared out of nowhere. As the person who adopted Oliver, she was also invited to the first opening. “He is almost two years old, Bruce says that he is one of the youngest cats here.”

Steve nodded and smiled. He could imagine that Bruce was excited as Tony was with all the new cats, but while Tony tend to blab a lot and change from one cat to the other, making it hard to keep track and memorize, Bruce had to be a better source of information.

“Tuma,” Natasha pointed up at the cat shelves, where a beautiful tortoiseshell girl was looking down at everyone with her yellow-green eyes. “Pi Shu,” on a shelf just below Tuma was another cat, this one resembling Cow a little bit, also black and white and green-eyed, looking at everyone suspiciously, “watch out for her, she gives love bites.”

Steve laughed, not at all bothered by kitty love bites. Maybe in the past he did consider it a problem, but not anymore.

“Oh, and there is Zeus,” Natasha smiled at the lean cat, a mix of calico and Siamese with unusually bright blue eyes sprinting between their legs to get to the cat’s room. “Chased by Little Girl,” she laughed, when a grayish-white blur followed Zeus, as both cats were playing with each other. “And there is my favorite, Clawson,” Natasha’s voice softened and she pointed at the window sill, where stretched out was a big, orange cat, the senior of the group, reaching almost fifteen years old, as finding homes for senior cats was still an important mission for Meow Cafe. Steve saw a resemblance to Oliver and it became clear why this particular cat became Nat’s favorite. Maybe if things turn out well, Oliver will get a brother.

“Hey, you almost got them all,” Steve looked at his friend, grateful for the short introduction.

“Yeah, almost,” Natasha leaned out a little bit, seeing Clint, sitting on the floor and dangling a mouse on a stick in front of two cats, a honey striped cat, and an orange tabby. Izzy and Menina. Izzy was a four years old boy and Menina was an older lady, almost fourteen, but was as playful and energetic as the three times younger Izzy. Clint was laughing and looked perfectly happy, observing cats attempt to get the mice, and sometimes letting them nibble on the toy.

Steve counted the cats they saw so far. Two in the cat’s room, six in the cafe area. That meant, that five more were somewhere around. His eyes went to the playground and he saw a small black cat, happily napping on one of the pillows.

“That’s Kashi, right?” Steve asked Natasha, trying to remember some of the cats on his own. From what Tony told him, Kashi was a very shy kitty lady and preferred to stay in the playground area, approaching everyone with caution.

“Yeah, it is,” Natasha confirmed, and laughed at a gray cat, walking back and forth through one of the tunnels, looking very happy, until the calico one with bright yellow eyes decided to make a surprise and jump on the tunnel, temporarily cutting off the entrance, until the cat wiggled out backwards, to the amusement of the three girls observing the cats. Poor Fezzick, attacked by Lina. Seemed that the younger cats had no respect for their older colleagues. Speaking of younger cats, on numerous fluffy pillows and gently pawing a toy mouse was Amber, gray and with golden eyes, the baby of the cat group, reaching one year. “I think that Celia is also in the playground—”

“Do you need anything?”

“We are good, Bruce,” Natasha smiled at her unofficially second boyfriend. Bruce’s hair seemed even curlier than usual, as he was rushing in the bar area, pouring coffee after coffee for all of their guests. Even his glasses seemed steamed.

“BRUCE!” Janet roared, appearing suddenly in the bar area, and leaning in to see how the coffee making was going, an empty tray propped against her hip, almost falling to the ground. Immediately, Bruce started to slap her away gently, because Pepper didn’t approve of jumping against the sparkly new bar and chipping the paint off. “Our guests need coffee!”

“And we need more cake!” Tony yelled, waltzing past the small group, swiftly collecting empty coffee cups left on the tables. The coffee place was becoming more crowded, as more people who adopted the cats over the two years of Meow Cafe existence were showing up. Pepper basically stood by the door and greeted the new groups, guiding them briefly over the cafe before resuming her position.

“Hi, handsome!”

Steve yelped, and jumped up a little bit, when someone, undoubtedly Tony, while circling and collecting plates and cups, playfully slapped his ass. He only saw Tony’s grin as his barista walked away to bus some tables.

“Then you two should come here and help me,” Bruce replied through clenched teeth in a deep voice, keeping a low profile, unlike his colleges. Steve had to admit, that the seemingly harmless brunet seemed a lot more threatening out of sudden.

“You have help!” Jan exclaimed, stacking the coffee cups on a tray. “We left you with the new guy!”

New guy? Steve sipped his coffee, looking more alert. Tony didn’t tell him that the person who was supposed to fill in for him started the job.

“NEW GUY! Move it!” Jan yelled, almost jumping over the bar and again, but being held back by Bruce.

“I am coming, I am coming!”

The door leading to the kitchen opened, and Steve’s eyes widened when he saw a familiar figure with about dozen plates with neatly cut pieces of carrot cake.

“Bucky?!” Steve exclaimed, or would have, if he didn’t have a mouthful of coffee and the liquid spilled from his mouth and trickled down his chin. Luckily, Natasha was alert and pressed a napkin to his mouth before any coffee could reach his shirt, but Steve still heard Tony’s pearly laughter somewhere in the distance. For being such a neat person in general, Steve was a huge spiller.

“As for a place that’s supposed to be relaxing, you guys are awfully nervous,” Bucky grumbled, making his way out of the bar, sporting a Meow Cafe apron worn over black jeans and buttoned shirt, “hi Nat, Steve. Have some cake,” Bucky smiled cheekily and slid two plates over the bar. Once again it was up to Natasha to save the moment and catch both plates, as Steve was still too stunned to move.

“Less chit chat more work!” Janet urged, putting some cups of coffee on the empty place on the tray. “Our guests are waiting for coffee! You need to step up your game if you want to work here, you have some big shoes to fill in! Well, metaphorically big shoes, because Tony has tiny feet—”

Steve saw Bucky quickening his pace, clearly escaping from chattering Janet, who followed him closely, talking his ears off. Bucky working at a cat cafe. That was something Steve didn’t expect. Clearly, Bucky’s fondness for cats ran deeper than Steve thought…

“Let’s go and sit,” Natasha gently bumped shoulders with Steve’s and pushed two plates with cakes into his hands, as she took their coffee. They went to the couch, the same one where Sam, Rhodey and Thor were sitting on, leaving Bruce on coffee duty and giving him some off time. Steve glanced at the back, and saw Tony making his way into the bar area, and taking out clean coffee cups out of the washing machine. Seemed that he won’t be able to spend any time with Tony today… After all, it was the opening, a big day for everybody.

When Steve and Natasha made it to the couch, Bucky was serving the last pieces of cake, the very last one going to Sam.

“Saved you the biggest one, doll,” he winked at his boyfriend and Sam beamed a proud smile.

“You managed to lose Janet?” Natasha asked with a teasing grin, sitting in the big armchair.

“She stopped to play with Cajetan and talk to that weird, sad kid,” Bucky explained.

“That weird kid happens to be my brother,” Thor sent Bucky an intimidating look, which lost a lot of threatening power, as the guy stuffed his mouth with carrot cake and had some icing around his lips.

“He is weird,” Bucky repeated, totally unfazed.

“I think he is interesting,” Natasha smiled, peaking at the man with the small cat in his lap.

“You guys don’t seem alike,” Steve put in his comment. It was obvious that siblings didn’t always resemble each other, but at least they had similarities. Thor, was big and muscled and had a seemingly sunny personality. His brother was smaller in posture, pale and had black hair, and didn’t seek company and clearly didn’t feel well surrounded by people.

“He is my stepbrother,” Thor explained in a small voice, still sounding a bit wounded and sending hurt looks towards Bucky.

“You really shouldn’t be the one to judge people! Remember how we met? I gave you five dollars because I thought you were living on the street!” Sam laughed, putting his fork into the carrot cake and taking a bite.

“What?!” everyone exclaimed, as Bucky froze in silent panic.

“You told me you bumped into Sam on a street!” Steve accused Bucky. Another hidden secret. His friend was asking for a long talk.

“You need to tell us!” Natasha smiled wide and evil, crossing her legs for a more comfortable position.

“I am glad to know I wasn’t the first one to think he was a homeless guy,” Rhodey laughed.

“Believe me, you were not the first one,” Steve shook his head. It happened more often than he would like to admit to, but well, that was his best friend.

“There is nothing to tell—” Bucky tried to cut the topic off, but Sam already started.

“I saw him at the subway station. He was sitting on the floor and playing guitar, so I stopped and gave him five dollars to buy himself something warm to eat. And then he used the same five dollars to buy me a coffee–”

“That’s basically what I told you!” Bucky explained himself, feeling Steve’s angry look.

“You left some parts out,” Steve muttered, “and I told you to stop doing that!” he hissed, meaning Bucky’s habit of playing guitar in the middle of the city. Bucky claimed that he was entertaining, for Steve, he was asking for trouble. “You will get yourself beaten up one day! Don’t walk away when I am talking to you!” Steve kept yelling, as Bucky trotted to serve more coffee, moving his mouth to Steve’s words and making faces, mocking him.

“— and now he has a decent job! My parents keep asking about him and I can finally introduce him!” Sam finished the story, seemingly oblivious to Bucky and Steve’s confrontation.

“Guys, better enjoy that carrot cake, we ran out!” Tony called, walking to his group of friends, and collecting the plates and cups he could. “But the honey cake finally cooled down!” he added quickly, noticing Thor’s sad puppy look. That guy could eat.

“You started making honey cake again?!” Rhodey called, almost jumping out of his seat. “Dibs on a piece!” he raised his hand up and waved frantically.

“Of course, you will get some, honey bear.”

“Oh, so here is the party for all cat people!” someone yelled out.

“Behave,” came a deeper and mellow voice.

“Hey, guys! Over here!” Sam raised his hand and waved to the two people standing in the doorway.

It was T'Challa and a friend. They walked to the group, T'Challa in long, broad steps, straight as a board, the other one moved softer, as if almost dancing to some disco music, which wasn’t a wrong association as his shirt had a mix logos of old music bands.

“You all know T'Challa already,” Rhodey introduced his work colleagues and T'Challa nodded to the group, “and this is Peter,” he pointed to the other guy.

“Sup!” Peter clicked his tongue and made a finger gun at the group. He was blond and had some curly hair on top of his head and a light stubble. He was wearing a bomber jacket and jeans, and his style was clearly inspired by the 80s. A total opposite of T'Challa, who was wearing an all black suit, and looked refined and polished. Peter had some rough charm to himself.

“Hi! How is Ramzes?” someone asked, and Steve would focus on that, curious to hear how T'Challa was doing with the loud senior cat, if it wasn’t for a whisper next to him.

“Wow, they are hot,” Tony gaped at both men, the tray almost slipping out of his hands. What made him grip it back, was Steve’s judging look, but what really sent panic down his spine, was the way Rhodey glared at him. Seemed that Tony still didn’t learn. “… Hot in here!” Tony corrected himself, closing and opening his mouth in brief panic. “Who wants iced coffee?!” he called into the air, walking away with the tray, cups and plates clinking gently.

Steve should be offended. Yet, at this point, he only smiled to himself and shook his head at his boyfriend’s behavior.

“Don’t worry,” Rhodey said and Steve looked at him, as Rhodey picked up some of the plates Tony left behind, “I know when that idiot is really in love,” he stood up, and went to put the plates away.

Steve kept smiling and looked at the piece of carrot cake he was handed earlier, feeling something warm inside. He focused on that and started eating, listening to his friends talking.

***

“Sit down!”

“But—”

“You were standing for the whole day! Sit down!”

“But we need—”

“SIT. DOWN!!”

Pepper raised her hands up in a desperate gesture. Not having any other choice, she plopped down on the couch, obediently staying where her crew had pointed her to. “Here. I am sitting, happy?”

“Yes,” Janet beamed, as Bucky and Bruce were cleaning the cafe, joined by Sam, Rhodey and Steve. “We will handle it, you rest!” Janet decided, walking away with Natasha to collect plates and cups from the tables. Clint and Tony were nowhere to be seen, but that probably meant that they were back in the cats’ room, refilling the bowls with food and water and cleaning the litter boxes for the night.

The cafe was emptying, their guests already had left and cats were nestling for a night of sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day and cafe would function normally, ready to serve more guests and look for homes for the new cats.

“Did you count the cats?!” Pepper turned around from her place on the couch, when Tony and Clint walked out from the bar area.

“Six!” Tony called back, “seven more to find!”

“I am on it!” Clint took the job and walked to the playground area, ready to play ’spot the cat’.

“Before we turn the bar off, does anyone want something?! Coffee, tea?!” Bruce called and collected some orders, while the rest was cleaning. It didn’t take long to clean with so many helpers, and soon the cafe became spotless again, ready for tomorrow.

“Thanks, guys. You all did a great job today,” Pepper smiled gratefully as her crew and friends sat around her and the group enjoyed a last cup of coffee, mugs handed out by Clint and Janet.

“Milady, your coffee,” Clint said charmingly, offering Natasha a cup of black and strong coffee. “As black and bitter as your soul, just the way you like it,” he added with a cheerful grin and Natasha cooed a thank you, taking the cup and gesturing towards Bruce to join them.

Steve held his latte and Tony’s double espresso and looked around for his boyfriend. He saw him at the other end of the cafe, alone and standing in front of the colorful wall. Steve made his way there, not recalling such colorful wall being in the cafe. Soon, it all made sense. He joined Tony and smiled at the black wall with photos all cats that had ever been adopted from Meow Cafe, in their forever homes, each photo signed by the owner in a colorful marker. Cow, Ariel, Tsuki, Crazeh… They were all there, including some cats Steve didn’t have an occasion to meet. There were also current cats’s photos on the wall, ready for adoption and looking for their humans. Steve remembered Meow Cafe guests crowding in this spot earlier, but didn’t know why. It was a great memento and a tribute.

“That’s incredible,” Steve smiled, looking at Tony with love. “You helped all those cats, you know that? You helped them find a home,” he said and he couldn’t possibly love Tony anymore.

“I had some help,” Tony answered and turned to Steve, smiling and a bit teary eyed. Thinking about his former pupils, always made him emotional. The mood changed drastically when he noticed what Steve was holding. “Is that a latte?!” he gasped out in horror, looking at the cup.

“Um… Yeah, but don’t worry, it is for me, I have an espresso for you—”

“You have been drinking lattes the whole evening?!”

“Yes?”

“The hell— BRUCE!!” Tony called, leaning out from behind Steve and looking at his group of friends, “you have been serving Steve lattes?! Regular or soy milk?! REGULAR OR SOY?!”

Bruce didn’t answer. The way he curled between Natasha and Clint was an answer in itself. Hey, it was a busy night. He forgot. Bucky tsked and shook his head. It wasn’t a secret that Steve was lactose intolerant, yet, sometimes it seemed that Steve was the one who forgot most often.

“Oh God,” Tony whined, hiding face in his hands and after a while glaring at Steve through his fingers. “You are so not sleeping in my bed tonight!”

Steve couldn’t help it. Tony looked so indignant and mad, he had to put the coffee on the nearby table, as he started to shake with silent laughter and it was hard to keep the cups steadily in his hands.

“I am serious!” Tony shrilled, pointing an accusing finger at Steve and not understanding what was so amusing about this situation, “last time you had milk, Fig was terrified! It was like an all-night artillery shooting!”

Steve did the only thing he could in this situation. He hugged wriggling Tony close and kept laughing until his hotheaded boyfriend ended his tantrum.

***

It was a week after the opening of the Meow Cafe and everything was going smoothly. Bucky got the job, and happily served coffee and took care of the cats, under Janet’s watchful eye, whose enthusiasm and passion earned her the main barista title, that previously belonged to Tony. Sam finally introduced his parents to Bucky, inviting them to the Meow Cafe one evening. Bruce, Natasha and Clint could be seen more often together, becoming more open about their relationship. Even Rhodey finally bought an apartment in New York and could regularly meet with Pepper and Tony, without taking their friends’ couch for the night. But most importantly, new cats were bonding with new people and had chances to find their forever homes. Soon, Meow Cafe had the first adoption and it was Peter, the guy T'Challa brought for the opening, who was the first one to adopt a cat and Cajetan found his forever home. And Tony and Steve kept working and being in a relationship and loved each other and possibly couldn’t be happier.

Everything was just fine.

Just. Fine.

Fine.

Fine?

It was wrong.

Something was horribly, horribly wrong.

“Ah… Ah!! Hah!!”

“Meow!!”

“Tony…”

“Nghhh… No, don’t— AH!”

“MEOW!!”

It was wrong, wrong, wrong. His human was crying and it sounded like if he was in pain and he didn’t know why. He needed to help him. Figaro started to frantically scratch on the locked door, needing to get inside. He needed to protect his friend.

“HAH! Ah ah ah!!”

“MEEEOOOW!!!”

“Tony!!”

“Yghhhh OKAY FINE!”

The door suddenly opened, and before Figaro could slide inside and attack with sharp claws whoever was hurting his friend, he was hoisted up and carried away, pressed to bare, human skin. Figaro blinked at that and saw the room moving and instead of being in the corridor, he suddenly found himself in the bathroom.

“Fiiiiig,” Tony whined, locking the door and putting the cat down. Figaro immediately brushed around his human’s legs, relieved to see that he was fine, although the lack of clothing and raised body temperature was a bit alarming.

“Yeah, yeah, I love you too, but Fig!” Tony snapped his fingers and crouched down to get to a more or less the same eye level as his cat, “focus now! Remember the talk we had?”

Figaro sat his fluffy butt down, looking at his human. They had many talks. He should be more specific. Humans were so unreasonable sometimes.

“The first one?” Tony emphasized. “The very first one? Come on, I know you can remember.”

The first one…

Ooohh…

Figaro remembered. It was a long time ago. A very long time ago, when his hind paw was hurting and everything, including his human, seemed a lot bigger and scarier.

_“We are here! This is where you live now!”_

_He looked around, seeing an unknown, big place. It was big, but also warm. He liked warm._

_“This is where you will eat. Here I will put a litter box for you. And here is where we will sleep!”_

_His bright eyes followed, trying to take everything in. It seemed like a lot, but he would handle it._

_“Oh, but first thing first…”_

_The human sat down and kept him on his lap. It was warm and soft, and he suddenly felt very sleepy._

_“Listen,” the human said, and stroked a single finger along his head and he closed his eyes in content. That felt nice. “I promise to keep you healthy, well fed and safe, and when the time comes, I will help you move on as quickly and painlessly as possible,” the human said, sounding serious and he opened his eyes, feeling that it was an important moment, “in return, you will do your stuff into the litter box, won’t wake me up at nights and allow me to get laid when I bring someone home, okay?”_

_A tiny meow. Not quite an agreement, as he didn’t understand most of the words, but it seemed important to his human._

_“Okay,” human smiled, and scratched behind his ears. Nice. “You need a name…” human said, looking at him with a thoughtful face. “Can’t think without music. Gimme a sec,” human continued and slid the kitten gently off his lap, walking away. He didn’t move away, when some loud noise filled the apartment and he curled in himself, eyes widening up in fear._

_“Ooops, sorry!” human amended, making the noise quieter. It was a sound he never heard before. It was like screaming, but there was some pattern to it._

_“You okay, buddy?” human asked sympathetically and sat back on the couch, taking him back in his lap. He continued to curl, alerted by the sound. Somehow it reminded him of his time outside, but it was different. He was safe now._

_“My mom used to listen to this all the time,” human said, closing his eyes and stroking a gentle hand along his back, remembering. It had to be a fond memory and he felt the happy vibes the person was giving._

_“Meow,” he said quietly, reminding of his presence._

_“Hm? You like it too?” that’s not exactly what the meow stand for, but he would train the human with time to better understand him. “Okay, so… How about Figaro? Do you like it as a name?”_

_“Meow!”_

_The human smiled and he felt he made something good happen. “Then it is settled. This will be your new name. Figaro!"_

During the years, Figaro tried to keep most of the promises. Yet, he felt scolded and lowered his beautiful head in shame.

"I knew you can remember.”

Hmm, so get laid mean mating. A cat learns something new every day. He interrupted his humans mating. At least he knew it wasn’t pain and could calm down.

“Okay, we will do it like this,” Tony decided and Figaro saw bare feet walking away. Tony opened the closet under the sink where he kept the clean towels and put some out, for Figaro to squeeze in if he would decide to, and poured some water into the sink, in case if the cat got thirsty. Not the best conditions, but it would do for a while and he saw Figaro licking off droplets of water from the sink numerous times already, so it shouldn’t be that bad.

“I will let you out soon, okay?” Tony said, petting his cat’s head and walking to the door. Figaro closed his eyes, giving his human a permission to leave. Quietly, Tony slid out and closed the door. Figaro looked around the spacious bathroom and decided to nap for the time being. He walked to the closet and threw out with his paw some more of the towels and squeezed inside, curling into a little ball in the tight space. Purrfect.

***

It was so warm and nice. He was cuddled into a warm person and there was a hand scrubbing his head. He was practically melting.

Tony purred playfully at the morning affection, letting the other man know, that he was slowly wakening up. The scrubbing stopped for a moment and then continued with tender care.

“Good morning,” Steve whispered, pressing lips to brunet’s curly hair.

“Morning,” Tony answered, stretching his legs and sinking back into Steve, not bothering to open his eyes. It was just too sweet to move and he could still feel the afterglow from the long, hot night they had.

“I have to get up,” Steve said, moving his fingers to stroke along Tony’s nape.

“No, you don’t,” Tony argued, not keen on letting his personal heater go.

“Yes, I do,” Steve argued back and smiled, gently moving away and pressing kisses into Tony’s face and tickling his ribs and sides gently when the stubborn brunet still didn’t want to let go. Giggling and breathless, Tony dropped back into the bed and stayed entangled in the covers, smiling sweet and in love, getting the same smile back from the blond.

“I will get some lunch for us on way back,” Steve promised, leaning down and kissing his boyfriend. Never enough of kisses. “And you can stay in bed and cuddle with Figaro now.”

Tony scrunched his nose. Seeing that Steve mentioned him… Why their cat wasn’t in bed with them? Figaro should be already between them and taking up space, instead they had a nice morning and woke up cuddled to each other—

Oh, son of a—

Steve almost fell off the bed, alarmed by the loud wheeze and the way Tony rushed out, bare feet running on the wooden floor. He heard him stopping in the corridor and opening the door loudly, almost ripping it out of the hinges.

“FIGARO!!” Tony called in real panic, as if spending half of the night in a closed bathroom, would scar his cat horribly. Figaro calmly peaked out his head from among the towels, happily sleeping in warmth and peace. Humans had to be always so loud.

“FIG, I AM SO SORRY!” Tony scrambled to his cat and took him out from among the towels and hugged close to his chest, cradling him in his arms. “MY POOR BABY!”

“Is Fig okay?!” Steve called from the bedroom, feeling alarmed by the cries, but also knowing that Tony could be overdramatic sometimes.

“NO THANKS TO YOU!” Tony yelled, deeply offended. “YOU MADE ME LOCK MY BABY AWAAAY!”

Steve raised his eyes to the ceiling. Drama, drama, drama. He would have to buy a package of bacon and a box of donuts on his way home to placate both Figaro and Tony.

So, this was what his life became…

He wouldn’t trade it for the world.

And with that thought he went to the kitchen to prepare a breakfast for all of them, smiling on his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cats used in this fic exists in real life (except Figaro) and belong to real life people (my friends and readers), thank you for letting me borrow them for the purpose of this fic!


End file.
